The Daughters of Thessia
by chunkyturtles
Summary: A retelling of the Reaper war and beyond. Mildly to Moderately AU. Features a much more powerful ground team, but equally more powerful enemies. Rushed in the beginning to get to ME2 where the story will slow down and become much more detailed and better paced. This is my own head-canon that I decided to put down on paper. All criticism welcome.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: In my haste to get my story posted, I accidentally posted my unedited version to the website. I didn't manage to notice this until I was reading back through the first chapter looking for continuity errors. I have now edited the chapter and posted it again. I hope you all enjoy my take on EA's and Bioware's IP. All credit goes to them for giving us such a wonderful universe to play around in.

...

Liara stared slack jawed at the extranet terminal in front of her, the display showing all related information to the topic which had dominated her mind since her timely rescue on Therum. Commander Elizabeth Shepard. Hero of Elysium, first human Spectre, and rescuer of archeologists surrounded by geth. Data continued to scroll past as bright blue eyes struggled to keep up. All the information before her was quickly cementing what she already had thought, this Shepard was something special. Thinking back to her recent escape from an active volcano, Liara struggled to accept all that had happened in the last 3 hours.

…

Shepard, Wrex, and Garrus all leapt down from the remains of the broken elevator onto the catwalks some 10 feet below them. A desperate voice calling from a level below, "Hello? Is anyone there? I could really use some help!" Shepard looked at her two squadmates and made a quick hand motion to follow. Several quick steps had them arriving in front of a blue tinted force field protecting a suspended asari a few feet away from them, a look of relief plastered on her face. "Thank the Goddess. Please, you must help me. I am trapped in this bubble and cannot get out."

Wrex and Garrus took up flanking positions while the Commander stepped forward to converse with the asari in front of her. Crossing her arms and cocking her right leg back, she quickly gleaned a couple things. Though clearly relieved to see them, the asari was not in good shape. Her outfit was stained with sweat, among other less pleasant things, and it was quite obvious to Shepard that she had been there for several hours if not days. Additionally, it was clear that the asari suspended before her was no enemy combatant. A brief introduction brought even more relief to the asari. "Commander Shepard, Council Spectre. I am looking for a Liara T'Soni. You her?"

The asari nodded her head weakly before replying. "I am. I don't suppose you are here to save me? There are several machines commanded by a krogan chasing me. As I fled I encountered this terminal next to me. In my haste to bring up this barrier curtain, I must have hit something by mistake, as the next thing I knew, I was suspended in this security bubble. It is only a matter of time before they find a way to get to me… please help me."

Shepard unfolded her arms and made a stopping gesture. While it was clear that Liara was in dire need of assistance, Shepard could not proceed without more information. "A few questions first, doctor. I am tasked with chasing down a rogue Spectre by the name of Saren. I have evidence that proves your mother, Matriarch Benezia, is allied with him. Do you know anything about your mother's whereabouts?"

Liara's face changed from relieved to pained as the question was asked. "I have not spoken to my mother in many years. Our relationship is… strained. She does not approve of my occupation. Get me out of this trap and I will tell you everything I know about her… please."

Shepard stared at Liara for several seconds before nodding her head in acceptance of her answer. "Alright, the rest of my questions can wait. We'll figure out a way to get to you, just sit tight." Turning to address the turian in the group, "Garrus, see what you can find to get past this barrier. There appears to be a central shaft running down behind Doctor T'Soni, that's our way in. Wrex, with me, we are going to see about clearing the rest of these machines and see if we can't find this krogan the doctor is so worried about."

After several minutes of gunfire, and not a small amount of biotic detonations later, a large explosion rocked the cavern. A few more minutes of silence brought Shepard directly behind Liara as she approached the ancient terminal to the asari's right. A few quick keystrokes and… Liara fell to the ground in a boneless heap, the time spent suspended clearly doing her body no favors. Shepard rushed to her side and handed her a canteen docked on her hardsuit. "Drink this, doctor. It should be enough to get you on your feet for a few minutes."

Liara took the offered drink carefully. While not distrusting of the commando before her, she was still trying to figure out her objective. Her mind raced to catch up with events in an effort to find a way to keep herself alive if at all possible. Taking the cap off of the canteen and pouring a bit of the blue liquid into her mouth caused her eyes to widen and tear up a bit. The bitter drink was clearly not water, but some form of eezo infused energy drink for biotics. Coughing a bit of the liquid up brought Shepard to her side once more, a calming hand on her back.

"Careful with that, it has been a while since you have had anything to drink, you need to take it slowly. We are not in any…" Just as Shepard was finishing her sentence, the whole volcano seemed to rumble. Joker's voice piped into her helmet, "Looks like whatever you did down there woke up that volcano Shepard, time to go!" Shepard hung her head, laughing. "Shit. So much for that. We have to move doctor. Can you stand?" Without waiting for an answer, Shepard grabbed Liara's right hand and elbow and heaved her up from the ground, not letting go until it appeared she had once again found her footing.

Liara capped the canteen and handed it back to Shepard, quietly thanking her. Wrex and Garrus were already back to the central shaft they had just used and were working on getting the elevator working again. As Liara and Shepard stepped on, the elevator started a slow pace up the shaft as another quake rocked the volcano.

Upon reaching the uppermost platform, they were met by a krogan battlemaster along with a mixed assortment of 6 geth platforms. Of the most concern was the towering geth prime, capable of dishing out and taking massive amounts of damage thanks to its much larger platform housing redundant shield generators and multiple armaments. The enemy krogan stepped forward and addressed the commander in a gravelly voice laced with contempt. "Surrender the girl. Or don't… That would be more fun."

Shepard let out a bark of a laugh before turning to her own krogan battlemaster. "What do ya say Wrex? Should we give up the girl?" Liara perks up and the question and quickly shakes her head to answer the commander, her eyes wide in fright, as she offers a meek no on her own behalf. Wrex leads with a chuckle before blasting at the opposing krogan with his shotgun, the krogan's shielding flaring is it deflects the incoming shots.

Hell breaks loose immediately following Wrex's first shot. Garrus pulls out his favored sniper rifle and lets loose with it as fast as the heat sink will cycle out rounds. The first two shots take out the two geth rocket troopers flanking the opposing battlemaster. Another geth armed with a sniper rifle takes aim at the commander and barks off it's own shot before being felled by the sharp sighted turian.

Shepard takes the shot in stride as her biotic barrier knocks the incoming round out of the sky as she launches an impressive warp at the hulking geth prime. This is immediately followed by several shotgun blasts to it's chest plate before the geth's shields finally wink out. Flipping the switch on her shotgun to change her ammo to incendiary she repeatedly blasts at the geth platform to whittle away at it's thick armor plating.

Not designed to stand idly by as it is blasted into oblivion, the prime platform is not taking the hammering laying down. As it's shields wink out of existence it primes and fires it's large pulse cannon from it's shoulder, nailing the commander in the chest. Once. Twice. Three times it fires it's cannon as it stomps closer to the commander.

Her own barriers failing as the geth prime hammers her with it's cannon, she summons as much dark energy as she can command and launches another warp at the towering platform. Blue white warpfire melting away at its armor plating as it grabs the commander by the neck and rips her from the ground.

Dangling several feet over the elevator platform, Shepard is struggling to weaken the prime's grip around her throat as the edges of her vision swim in inky blackness, her hands gripping at the wrist of the prime platform cloaked in more of the blue white warpfire as she attempts to burn her way through the offending limb. After several seconds of concentrated exposure to her burning hands, the commander is no closer to freedom than when she began. In a last concentrated effort before she passed out from lack of oxygen and blood to her brain, she once again pulled as much dark energy into existence as she could and delivered a biotically enhanced kick directly to the burned and warped armor plating at the prime's chest.

Liara watched in fright, unable to conjure up any of her own biotic power exhausted as she was, as the commander was yanked from the ground and strangled by the hulking geth prime. After several seconds of seeming inaction on the commander's part, her entire right leg began to glow and whipped out in a desperate attempt to kick herself free. Liara gaped in awe as she watched the commando saw through the main armor plating of the prime with her leg, nearly kicking the prime platform in half as she did.

Wrex finished off his fight with the opposing krogan with an unceremonious blast to the face with his shotgun before turning to see what other opponents he could snuff out in his blood rage. The old lizard didn't take long to catch his next target in his sights, a hulking geth platform with it's back turned to him. As the krogan let out a bellowing roar of challenge, he was shocked to see the platform collapse to the ground, a massive chunk of it's armor cleaved away by the armored foot of the small human he had sworn a battle oath to.

The compound was eerily quiet as the prime platform fell to the ground, all hostiles having been taken out by members of the ground team. As the prime's bulk slowly tipped over, Shepard was dropped none too gently to the ground and collapsed in a heap, her right leg bent at several terrible angles beneath her.

The tired asari doctor crawled over to the commander as her other teammates gathered around. The turian put one of his three talons to the side of his head and began to call for a medical evac. Liara bent over the broken form of the commando and pulled of her helmet, and let out a choking gasp as a freckled human face stared back at her with piercing green eyes. Liara had heard her introduce herself but had not made the connection of her name being human. She had been operating under the assumption that her rescuer was asari. Liara brushed locks of sweat soaked red hair out of Shepard's eyes and told her that evac was on the way. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Wrex stomping over to the pair.

The krogans booming voice was laced with an odd touch of concern as he pushed his way beyond the asari and picked up the now passed out form of Commander Shepard. "Let's go, evac shuttle is on it's way but can't reach us in here." Slinging the Commander over his shoulder, he walked off towards the entrance of the compound buried in the volcano, leaving Garrus to help the young asari to her feet to follow in Wrex's footsteps.

Liara could barely move, and while being dragged rather urgently from a very active volcano, could not take her eyes off of the ground upon which she walked. A trail of bright red blood was rather easy to follow to it's source. The human draped over the krogan's back. Liara had never seen human blood before, and was shocked by how vivid it was. Her fear was back now, but this time, it was not for herself. She was scared for her savior. She was scared for this Shepard.

The run back to the evac shuttle did not take long, but in Liara's mind it took hours. Every moment that ticked by was another pool of blood that she walked by on the ground. Upon reaching the shuttle, the ship's doctor, Karin Chakwas, immediately began stripping the commander of her armor to gain access to the wounded leg. The old doctor was quick in her work and soon had the broken limb free of armor. Her hands worked with practiced ease as she scanned it over once with her omnitool and diagnosed her with a small tear in the Femoral Artery and several complete breaks in the tibia and fibula.

Shepard's armor had done it's job. Upon detection of the injury, the suit had flooded her body with medigel, a multipurpose gel substance that rapidly went to work to seal the breach in the artery. Unfortunately, the tear was too jagged and irregular, and while it had slowed the bleed considerably, it could not stop it all together. Not only had the suit pumped her full of medigel, the software suite contained within detected the bleed and compressed the inner layers of her suit around her thigh in an attempt to cut off circulation to her tattered leg.

What remained of Shepard's leg after kicking the metal giant was better described as fragments and ribbons. Chakwas called ahead to the Normandy as the shuttle took off. "Prep the surgical suite and all available units of universal blood. Joker, get us to the Citadel with all possible speed, along with emergency transport to Huerta Memorial." More to herself she murmured, "I don't think I can save this leg."

Just as the shuttle cleared the landing bay door, the hatch clasped shut and the Normandy's powerful engines blasted off from the surface of the planet, heading straight for the relay that would bring them back to the Widow system, home of the Citadel.

As the commander was whisked away into the medbay and away from prying eyes, Liara was led to the women's bathroom to get cleaned up. Having stripped herself of her soiled garments, she was quick to jump into the sonic scrubbers. As she cleaned herself off, her mind was still glued to the human that had saved her life. Her emerald green eyes still haunting her vision. 'Who is this human that commands respect from so many? How does she have an old krogan battlemaster and a turian operative following her orders? What does she expect from me?' These questions among others raced through her tired mind.

…

Leaning back from the terminal in front of her, Liara felt she had learned enough to answer her first two questions. Commander Shepard was one of the best humanity had to offer, if the extranet was to be believed. Shepard was chosen to be the first human Spectre for a reason, and now Liara knew what that reason was. Shepard was an indomitable spirit, dedicated to her own cause with a strict sense of moral direction. Not only this, but even from her brief experience with the woman, she had witnessed an inner fire that made you want to follow her. Liara couldn't help but wonder if her rescue had just cost this person their life.

While the flight to the Citadel had been quick, it had not been uneventful. Shepard had crashed twice, both times requiring resuscitation. She had lost a catastrophic amount of blood, and if the CMO was to be believed, she might lose her leg. The ship's entire store of universal O- blood had been depleted before the bleeding could be stopped. As soon as the ship docked with the Citadel, Shepard was rushed to Huerta Memorial, the premier hospital in the galaxy to receive treatment. As Liara sat in the back room of the medbay, she wondered if she would ever get the chance to thank her hero. That thought weighed heavily on her mind until she passed out from exhaustion in her chair, the information on Shepard still scrolling it's way down the screen to it's unconscious audience.

…

Several days had passed since the hero of Elysium had risked her life to save a young asari archaeologist on Therum. After numerous surgeries, overseen by surgeons of several different species, Shepard awoke to the familiar white walls of a hospital room. Upon waking, doctor Chakwas had come in rather hurriedly and gave the commander the rundown on her recovery time. "Two weeks at least before you will see combat again, Commander." Karin Chakwas frowned at Shepard for what felt like the thousandth time in her career. "Just what were you thinking, Elizabeth? I've seen you do stupid things but this one takes the cake. What possessed you to kick that giant metal monstrosity, with biotics, no less?

Shepard let out a heavy sigh as her "Aunt" Karin scolded her yet again after one of her rather risky decisions on the battlefield. Being an Alliance Vanguard was innately risky. The crash and blast combat style favored bold biotic attacks followed by close range combat. They were considered "high risk - high reward" fighters, and Shepard was one of the best humanity had to offer. That didn't mean she always came out unscathed though. She couldn't even claim that this latest stunt had been her most severe injury. Remembering a rather impressive feat of her combat profile, she ran a light touch over a jagged scar that spread across her sternum. A daily reminder that just because you feel invincible, doesn't mean you can take a shotgun blast to the chest and walk away.

"Alright Aunt Kay, what am I going to see if I lift the sheets? A nub of a leg?" Shepard had her ever present cocky smirk on her face as she asked the question. That disappeared when doctor Chakwas gave her a reply. "You jest, but you very well could have left with just that very thing. It was a close thing, Elizabeth. You had 4 surgeons working for several hours at a time to repair what was left of your shattered limb. As it was, the bones were crushed beyond the abilities of the bone-stitcher to repair. Several muscle groups were also unsalvageable. If not for a salarian cybernetic specialist that showed up during your first surgery, we may have had to declare the leg a total loss… most of your leg had to be replaced with cybernetics. That brings you up to eighteen percent of your body being hardware, Commander. You know the Alliance won't let you back in the field with over twenty-five percent if they find out. I hope she was worth it Commander, I really do."

Shepard let out an unsteady sigh as she nodded her head in understanding. Her classic smirk came back fairly quickly as a thought popped into her head. "But they never will find out, will they Aunt Kay? As a Spectre, all of my records were sealed. Including medical records… right?" Doctor Chakwas looked like she had sucked on a lemon as Shepard found yet another way to downplay her injuries. "That may be true, Elizabeth, but I'll not sit by and watch you destroy yourself to play hero. Eventually it will catch up to you. Now, let's have a look at your leg and see what kind of damage we have, shall we?"

As Karin lifted the sheet off of her right leg, Shepard was pleased to notice little if any evidence of her injury. "The dermal regenerator seems to have done an excellent job this time. I don't see any scar tissue on the outside. I will schedule you for physical therapy tomorrow and see about getting you back aboard the Normandy for light duty. In the meantime, you have several visitors. I will allow them in one at a time, for now. I have no doubt they have already decided on their own little order to visit you. I will see you tomorrow, Elizabeth."

As Karin walked out of her room, Wrex was quick to enter, the old lizard looking at the commander with what appeared to be a small bit of respect. "Never seen a kick like that, human. I'll let you get some rest, just wanted to stop by and tell you… that little asari we picked up, T'Soni, she's all worked up convinced this is her fault. Thought you would want to know, talk her out of condemning herself. Anyway, I got a shuttle to clean. Someone bled all over the damned thing." Wrex walked out with a guffaw at his own little attempt at humor, Shepard never having said a word the whole time he was in there visiting. Her mind was stuck on how she was going to get doctor T'Soni to see reason, when she herself was having a hard time doing so herself.

From the moment she had seen Liara, something clicked in her head. Never having been one to form attachments of any kind, the only people Shepard cared about was her mom, Captain Anderson, and her squad. Having glanced at Liara one time though, a switch was flipped. She realised at that time that she would do anything to protect her at the cost of anything else. Why though? What was so special about one person? And more importantly, what did this mean? Her thoughts were interrupted as Garrus walked into the room, his mandibles flaring out in a turian smile at the sight of his friend awake and alert.

"Hey, Shepard. Heard you kicked ass, didn't know you kicked everything else too." Chuckling softly at his own joke he pulled up a chair and sat down next to his commander. "How are you doing, the docs won't tell us anything other than you will live." Shepard gave him a lopsided grin and broke the news, "Yeah, I'll live. Might have to let you lead the ground squad for a bit, but they are going to see about getting us back in the air tomorrow. No doubt the Council is going to throw a fit for delaying my after action report for so long. I don't suppose anyone took care of that little bit of nonsense for me?"

Garrus laughed, shaking his head as his voice flanged low. "Not a chance, Shepard. Though they have called several times. Valern wants to know how long you are going to be 'laying around'. Sparatus wants to know when you will stop shirking your duty, and Tevos actually expressed genuine concern. I guess you earned some points with her for rescuing the daughter of an esteemed matriarch."

Shepard nodded gratefully for the update, and let her head fall back to her pillow, the pain-killers in her system dragging her eyelids low. "I think I am all done with visits for the day, Garrus. Can you let everyone know I appreciate them being here… I think I am going to conk out here in a minute." Garrus gave a quick nod. "I'll get it done, Shepard. We'll see you on board tomorrow."

As Garrus left the room to spread the word, Shepard thought back to Liara, frantically trying to figure out what was going on in her own head, as well as in the head of the young asari. Shepard fell into a peaceful sleep, the young asari's face planted firmly in her mind.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note: Thank you all for reading what I think is a rather bland beginning to a story I have had in my head for many years. This chapter is a rather dull one, but is required in my mind to set up relationships that will carry us through the story. Please note that I rated this story M for a reason. Some of this story will be rather graphic. Nothing like that in this chapter though.

...

Shepard was thrilled to be back on board the Normandy. Her first stop of course was the med bay for a quick check up with doctor Chakwas. While she was there, she was informed that Liara had made her new home in the storage room for the med bay. Jumping down off of the med bed, Shepard winced and bounced on her left leg a few times to shake off the pain coming from her right leg. Chakwas gave her a cold stare before admonishing her. "I said light duty, Commander. That means no jumping, running, or fighting. Got it?" Shepard nodded and limped carefully over to the med bay's storage room before schooling her pained expression and removing the limp from her gait.

As Shepard pinged the room with the haptic interface, Liara was idly staring at the screen of her extranet terminal, still doing "research" on her savior. As the door chimed to alert those inside the room they had a visitor, Liara's melodic voice rang out. "Come in?" Shepard appeared as the door sank into it's hole in the wall. "Doctor T'Soni… I was just coming in to check in on you… last I saw you, you weren't in very good shape." Liara's lilac lips twisted in a very brief smile, not quite reaching deep blue eyes. "I was more concerned about you, Commander. I had thought you dead when I saw all of the blood. To know I caused you such injury has weighed heavily on me. I… I find you fascinating, Commander."

Shepard grimaced a bit at Liara's words, her eyes wandering the room and coming to rest on the active terminal on the desk. Her public Alliance records on full display. "I… see that. I suppose you couldn't just ask me since I was laid up in the hospital these past few days. Did you find what you were looking for?" Liara's face erupted in a purple blush as she felt the heat rise to her face. Liara stammered out a response while keeping her eyes firmly locked on the ground. "I… I did, Commander. I wanted to know who it was that risked their life to save my own." Shepard snorted, leaning against the now closed door, her weight resting on her left leg.

"And what conclusion have you come to regarding that line of inquiry?" Liara hesitated before answering, unsure of how to continue before she decided on the honest truth. "As I said, I find you fascinating. To have survived a batarian raid on your home planet, killing 12 on your own at such a young age, is no small feat. Combine that with the events on Elysium and your history has painted you as a force to be reckoned with. Your display of biotics was impressive, not only on Therum, but on Elysium and Mindoir as well. You fight with little care for your own safety, though you did not hesitate to protect me from a force that outnumbered your own two to one. From all I can see, you are a paragon of virtue, a true light in the darkness. I… I am honored to have met you, Commander."

Shepard remained outwardly impassive as the asari heaped praise upon her. Inside however, warmth bloomed in her chest at the honest words. Normally she would have felt embarrassed or put off by such compliments, but now she found herself genuinely pleased with the asari's estimation of her character. Brushing her hair behind her ear to momentarily hide her smile, Shepard found it hard to keep a neutral expression when dealing with the innocent looking asari. After a brief few seconds, she found her voice again to respond. "I… thank you, doctor T'Soni. Do you think when it is just us, you could call me Elizabeth? When we are with others, you can just call me Shepard. I suspect we will be working together quite a bit, there is no point in being so formal all of the time."

Liara blushed again, inwardly cursing herself for being unable to control her foolish glee at Shepard's offer of less formality. To the asari, this was a sign of friendship, and for some reason, this pleased her greatly. Considering she had just recently met this human, she was still coming to terms with how strongly she felt about her. Perhaps her maiden curiosity was finally getting the best of her after decades of neglect. Either way, she realized she had been silently caught up in thought for several seconds. The silence in the room was deafening for Shepard, and she wondered if she had overstepped and scared the asari off. As Shepard opened her mouth to apologize, Liara finally spoke up, her voice soft and quiet. "I think I would like that, Elizabeth. You may call me Liara." Her voice was a bit more firm as she continued. "I suppose you are also down here to discuss my relationship with my mother."

Shepard found herself grinning again as Liara granted her permission to use her first name. Liara watched as happiness spread across the commander's face and felt a spike of heat in her core. 'Goddess,' she thought, 'I never noticed how attractive she was before now. Keep your composure. What would mother think if she heard what I am thinking?'

Shepard schooled her expression after a few moments and nodded her head sharply. "I suppose we should speak of that, shouldn't we? I know you said your relationship was strained, but I need to find your mother. She is aiding a rogue Spectre and he must be taken down. Do you know anything that might be of use to my mission?"

Liara thought for a few moments, rifling through memories to see if anything stood out that would help Shepard in her hunt. When she came up with nothing, she sighed rather dejectedly, worrying she might disappoint the human before her. "I unfortunately know nothing of my mother's whereabouts, Comm… Elizabeth. If I knew anything… I would tell you. I have no interest in becoming a fugitive in all Citadel space for withholding information. That said, I have read reports of your interaction with the beacon on Eden Prime. I am one of the foremost researchers on the Protheans in the galaxy. I would gladly offer my services in helping you find what you need regarding the Reapers."

Shepard perked up at Liara's offer of help. She could tell the asari was telling the truth regarding her mother and knew should could use the help finding everything she required to hunt down Saren. Another positive of keeping Liara aboard was she was undoubtedly a decent biotic. All asari were biotics to some degree, but Shepard could feel the biotic potential rolling off of the asari in front of her in waves. While she had been too exhausted to assist in the fights on Therum, she had managed to stay alive while being chased down by a krogan and a squad of geth.

"Alright Liara, I'll make the changes to the Normandy systems. You are officially part of the Normandy crew. Are you any good in a fight?" Liara smiled brightly at Shepard, glad to be staying on board the Normandy. Someone had sent those geth after her, and she could think of no safer place than at Shepard's side. Shepard felt her heart skip a beat as Liara beamed at her, and coughed to cover any reaction she may have had. Liara earnestly replied. "I am more than capable of defending myself. Over the past fifty years I have had to defend myself from bandits and raiders, along with aggressive wildlife in remote dig-sites all across the galaxy. I trained for 20 years to hone my biotics and am proficient with a pistol."

Shepard nodded, pushing her back off of the door to stand and leave. "I'll get you some armor and weapons on the Citadel when I go back to brief the Council on our rescue mission. In the meantime… wait. Did you just say fifty years? How old are you exactly?" Liara blushed and looked down at the floor before meeting Shepard's eyes again. "I am only 106, still a young adult by asari standards. It is most of the reason why my work is not given the credit it deserves." Shepard nodded and tucked that bit of information away to be studied at a later date. For now, she had to go face the music with the Council. "It's been good talking to you, Liara. I'll check back in later." With that, Shepard left the med bay and limped her way over to her own quarters aboard the Normandy.

Before she could get to the safety of her own room, her XO, Pressley approached her and brought some 'concerns' to her attention. It was his opinion that the 'aliens' aboard the ship were given too much freedom to roam, especially the quarian in engineering. Shepard made a show of reaming her XO in the middle of the mess hall. She had made it quite clear that bigotry would not be allowed on her ship. It was a message received by all, loud and clear.

As Shepard finally made it safely to her room, she flopped on her bed and groaned, her leg throbbing from the day's physical therapy and frequent use walking around her ship. As she finally began to doze off to sleep, Joker's voice piped in over the comm system. "Shepard, the Council is calling. Again. They want their mission report. Now." Shepard let out an angry groan and pushed herself off of her bed. Heading over to the elevator, she took it down to the hangar deck and stopped at her locker. As she started to put on her armor, she realized that her right leg piece had already been replaced, and shot a knowing look to Chief Williams who was currently busy cleaning the weapons stored aboard the Normandy.

Shepard called out to her ground team from the Therum mission. "Wrex, Garrus, suit up. Time to brief the Council. Ashley, front and center." Chief Williams double timed it over to the commander and snapped to attention. "At ease, Ash. I suppose I have you to thank for repairing my gear?" Ashley nodded quickly, smiling as she updated the commander. "Yes ma'am. I figured you would be otherwise occupied recuperating and didn't want you to have to bother with your gear." Shepard put a gauntleted hand on the Chief's shoulder, smiling at her as she dipped her head. "Thank you, Ash. It means a lot, really. I have a task for you, if you have the time. I need doctor T'Soni fitted for gear. Just send me her specs and I will get it while ashore."

Ashley nodded and snapped off a quick salute, running off to go get the asari's measurements as Shepard and her team left the Normandy and went to go brief the Council. Shepard made a few stops and visited a few noteworthy people while she was there before stepping up on the platform to address the Council.

Tevos greeting her with a tilt of her head, and brought the meeting to order. "Commander Shepard, it is good to see you are well on your way to recovery. We have called you here today to answer a few questions. Firstly, we are aware that you were successful in recovering doctor T'Soni. While we are relieved that it was possible, we regret that a Prothean ruin was destroyed in the process. Was there truly no way to avoid the destruction of such valuable ruins?" Shepard let out a soft sigh and ran her fingers through her hair. "None that we could see, Councilor. In the end, we made the right choice. If we hadn't blasted our way through, the enemy team would have beat us to doctor T'Soni. They were already at the main elevator shaft as we made our escape. I estimate they were only minutes away from capturing Liara."

Tevos raised her white brow markings in surprise in response to Shepard using Liara's first name, but quickly schooled her expression. Sparatus on the other hand waved dismissively at Shepard. "Of course you saw no other way. You are human. You only know how to use brute force to get to your objective. It is no wonder you have decided to bring a krogan to our meeting." The krogan in question let out a soft growl, his eyes narrowing at Sparatus, who had the good sense to cough and avert his gaze. Tevos was quick to regain control of the meeting. "Shepard's ground team has no bearing on this meeting. I imagine they are here to support her report should such a thing be necessary."

Shepard gave a brief nod of confirmation to Tevos and made a motion for Tevos to continue. "Have you had a chance to question doctor T'Soni on her mother's whereabouts? We have been searching for her, but have not found any leads. She may be our best bet to find her mother and end this quickly." Shepard nodded again quickly recapping the related parts of her conversation with Liara. "I believe her when she says she does not know where her mother is, or why she is doing what she is doing."

As Tevos nodded in acceptance of her answer, Sparatus was quick to interject. "Yes, well, she may have been lying. We will need to question T'Soni ourselves to verify this." Shepard made a cutting motion with her hand before folding her arms across her chest. "Not going to happen. She's a member of my team and I won't let her be interrogated like a criminal." Sparatus bounced his mandibles angrily and was about to offer a scathing reply when Velern cleared his throat to gain the attention of the assembly. "STG intelligence can verify that the young doctor has had no contact with her mother for several months. No need for interrogation. Shepard's testimony will suffice." Tevos nodded in agreement as Sparatus folded his arms across his chest, mirroring Shepards stance.

Tevos wrapped up the meeting by again thanking Shepard for her timely rescue of the young asari and made a quick motion that Shepard wasn't quite certain she saw. As the Council filed out of the chamber Shepard decided to err on the side of caution and follow up with Tevos' assistant. Upon her entry to the asari wing of the tower, she is ushered into a lavishly appointed office space, her squadmates ordered to wait in the hall. Tevos stood from behind her desk and motions for Shepard to enter. "Shepard, thank you for meeting with me. Could I get you something to eat or drink? I have a large assortment of asari liquors if you are so inclined."

Shepard wandered over to the well stocked bar after a moment's hesitation and began perusing the wide assortment of bottles before selecting a clear bottle with a dark purple liquid in it. Tevos approaches and voices her approval of Shepard's choice. "This is a very fine Thessian liquor, similar to human bourbon, though much sweeter. Asari tastes tend to sway to extremes, and our liquors are no exception. Perhaps you should start with a small glass and see if you approve?" Nodding in agreement, Shepard pours a small glass of the offered beverage and sits down at a chair across from Tevos' desk. As she takes a small sip of the drink, her eyes widen in surprise as the familiar burn of liquor is paired with an intense sweetness, not too dissimilar to the taste of oranges.

"You were right to warn me, this is sickeningly sweet, Councilor. I don't think I could manage to drink a full serving of this." Tevos hides a smile behind her hand as she chuckles softly. "You are not the first non-asari to tell me as much. Also, in private, you do not have to refer to me by my title. My name will suffice." Shepard took another sip and set the drink in her lap as she leaned back into the chair. "Thank you Tevos, for that as well as the drink. I admit I am a bit shocked to be called back into your private office. I get the distinct impression the Council as a whole is none too impressed with me…"

Tevos frowned slightly and dipped her head in acceptance of the words. "I apologize that we could not keep those feelings from you. I assure you though, Sparatus does not speak for all of us. Valern has a foundation of respect for your abilities. And I… well, I appreciate everything you have done for doctor T'Soni. It gladdens me to know that she is in such capable hands. Forgive me… but I must ask. What are your feelings toward Liara?"

Tevos watched the blood slowly rush to Shepard's face and nodded as if she had decided something. "It is as I thought then. You have feelings for her." Shepard slammed the rest of her drink and groaned as it burned it's way down her throat and into her belly. Wishing she could crawl in a hole and hide from the perceptive Councilor. "I wouldn't say that… I have only known her for a few brief days. That is hardly enough time to become infatuated with someone…" Tevos clicked her tongue in disapproval at Shepard and sat down in her own chair behind her desk and folded her hands into her lap while she cast a critical eye over the commander. "Has she told you how old she is? Or rather how young? She is 106 years old, nearly 107. Barely an adult by our standards. If you pursue a relationship with Liara you should be aware that she is the daughter of one of the great houses of Thessia. As young as she is, she has quite a large amount of wealth to her name. There are those who would suspect you are using Liara to get to this wealth."

Shepard grimaced as if stricken, wanting nothing more than to bolt out of the room and never look back. Something in Tevos' voice made her stick it out though. "I honestly hadn't decided what I am going to do about these feelings. I haven't even figured out what they are yet. I am drawn to her, like a moth to flame, and I desire above all else to protect her. I was serious when I told Sparatus that an interrogation wasn't going to happen. I would not allow her to be treated as a hostile."

Tevos smiled encouragingly as she spoke. "That is the only reason we are having this discussion, Commander. You have an aura about you, due in no small part to your biotics. I would wager most asari could sense it, as well as the more powerful non-asari biotics. You exude strength and control. When Liara's name was brought up, it shifted, smoothed out. Your fire was tempered. And when Sparatus spoke her name, your aura shifted again. There was fire and possessiveness. You may not have known her for long, but your soul recognizes her."

Shepard squirmed in her chair, uncomfortable at being so easily read by someone. Unsure of what else to do without help, she asked the elder asari. "What do I do then, Tevos? You've picked me apart and shown that you know me better than I know myself. This isn't exactly familiar territory for me… I am a soldier, a warrior. I could die tomorrow in combat. Wouldn't that be rather cruel to Liara? That's even assuming the feelings are mutual…" As Shepard's voice trailed off, Tevos laughed quietly, remembering when she too was young and new to the mysteries of the universe. "That is up to you Shepard. She is old enough to make her own decisions without you making them for her. At the very least you must talk it out with her. It is clear you are willing to risk life and… limb for her. I have read your CMO's report of your injuries suffered in Liara's defense. I am sorry that her safety cost you so dearly, Shepard. Think of it this way: could the conversation hurt as much as the loss of your leg?"

Shepard sat quietly for a couple minutes pondering all that Tevos had said before coming to the conclusion that yes, the conversation could hurt much more if it went the wrong direction. Tevos laughed when Shepard told her as much. "Shepard, I hope that this is the beginning of a wonderful friendship between us. I already hold you in high regard. As such, I will offer you what assistance I can. I will call Sha'ira and have her fit you into her schedule. I am sure she will agree after you have already aided her previously. Sit with her and learn of our customs and ways. You could learn much from the Consort, and she may even be able to impart you with some courage to face your fears of rejection. Though, if I were in the habit of betting, I would say there is not much risk there."

Shepard nodded in thanks to Tevos and made her way to the exit. Before leaving she turned back to Tevos. "I think we are well on the path to the friendship you desire Tevos. If only I could get the rest of the Council to be so generous." With a sad smile, Shepard walked out of Tevos' office. As the door to the office closed, Tevos made a call to Sha'ira and told her of her recent discussion with Shepard. "Expect to see her tomorrow, she looked ready to fall over as she left my office. I'll call Aethyta, she'll be interested in this… development."

…

Shepard awoke with a start early the next morning. Her sleep had been fitful and restless as her subconscious struggled with her recent conversation with Tevos. As she rolled out of bed, she was pleased to notice that her leg hurt significantly less than it had yesterday. She considered herself lucky that cybernetics had advanced so far as to make the transition nearly seamless. She could only barely tell that the limb was not her own natural one. Quickly getting dressed in her favorite street wear: a pair of jeans, some boots, and a white tank top, she strolled out of her cabin and nearly ran face first into Chief Williams.

To her credit, Ash was quick to react and jumped out of the way of the commander. "Sorry Skipper. Was just coming by to give you T'Soni's measurements for her armor." Shepard accepted them with a thanks and made her way to the Consort's office for her appointment. The meeting lasted well into the afternoon and Shepard felt she had a solid grasp on asari customs and culture. Rather than taking days to explain all of this to Shepard, Sha'ira offered a knowledge meld, both to speed up the process and knowing that any experience with the meld would be helpful if she decided to pursue a relationship with the young doctor T'Soni.

After her meeting with the consort, Shepard went to the Spectre requisitions office and obtained a new set of colossus armor for Liara along with a few new Spectre arsenal pistols for her squad. While her meager Alliance income was supplemented somewhat by her Spectre income, that still wouldn't have been enough to afford all of the armor and weapons she was intent on purchasing. Shepard decided early on that she wanted her whole squad outfitted in the best, and that meant colossus armor for everyone. On top of that, she wanted to obtain the predator shielding generator as a standalone to be installed on each set of colossus armor. Pulling out her omnitool to do some quick calculations, Shepard was floored to see the total cost that would bring. The best weapons and armor available would cost her nearly ten million credits.

Shepard could see no way around it though. If her team was expected to bring down a rogue Spectre, a powerful asari matriarch and the reapers, her team would need the very best to even stand a chance. Driven by necessity, Shepard hatched the beginnings of a plan. She would need to run it by Chief Williams first, but if things worked out, Shepard might have come up with the way to get the much needed credits.

Finalizing her order on the requisitions terminal with instructions to deliver the newly purchased equipment to the Normandy, Shepard headed back to the ship to oversee the delivery and hand out the new gear. Stepping aboard the Normandy, Shepard made her way down to the hangar deck and sought out Chief Williams, who was at her normal spot by the weapons lockers. "Hey Ash, got a second?" Ashley turned from her work and gave a quick nod as she wiped her hands on a grease stained rag. "Sure Skipper. Just finishing up the repairs and maintenance on the last of our weapons. What can I do for you?"

"I just ordered some new armor for Liara when I came to the conclusion that we were all due for an upgrade given the enemies we are going to be facing. I want us all outfitted in top of the line gear, and that means colossus. That means credits, and a lot of 'em. I actually came up with a bit of a plan, but would want you to be on board with it before I pull the trigger." Ashley nodded slowly, always eager to please her Commander. "I don't have much Skipper, but you are welcome to what I have set aside if you think it will help?" Shepard gave a soft chuckle before putting her hand on Ashley's shoulder. "Thanks, Ash, but that won't be necessary. Like I said, I have a plan. If my hunch is correct, we are going to be facing off with all sorts of enemies. Hackett has already sent us after pirates, gangs, and mercenaries to help out the Alliance. My guess is, that work won't slow down. I want to salvage all of the gear from our fallen enemies, repair it, and sell it all. We already sell stuff we can find, but I want to be more aggressive with it."

Shepard took a deep breath before getting to the reason for approaching Chief Williams. "To that end, I wanted to see if you would be willing to oversee the repairs of all of that gear. It is going to be a lot of work, and it will probably not be pretty, but it would contribute greatly to our cause. I am sure you could get Wrex to help out too. That old lizard knows his way around a repair bench. What do ya say?" Williams was quiet for a few moments, her face contemplative before responding. "It's a good idea, Skipper. I can't think of a better one to get the credits you need for the gear. I'll do it. Just remember who helped you out when they start handing out medals, eh?" Shepard laughed, shaking her head. "Thanks Ash, I'll make sure you're leading the charge when that day comes. I'll see ya around though, gotta make my rounds."

With that business taken care of, Shepard made her rounds, stopping in to talk to each of her ground squad before stopping in the med bay to get her daily check up since her surgery. Doctor Chakwas ran a quick scan over her leg and sent her on her way with another dose of painkillers. Bracing herself for her final stop of her tour, she keyed open the door to the med bay storage room and stepped inside after Liara granted her access. Once the door was fully sealed behind her, Shepard leaned her back against it, once again placing all her weight on her left leg. Before Shepard could start, Liara took the initiative and softly whispered her name. "Elizabeth. I think we should talk." Shepard gave a quick nod blowing out a breath of air. "So I have been told, Liara. Anything in particular you think we should discuss?" Shepard found herself dancing around the issue. She snorted softly, more to herself as she thought, 'funny that I can take on batarian pirates, but can't talk about emotions. Wonder what that says about me… nothing good, I imagine.' Liara looked puzzled by Shepard's reaction but decided against questioning it in order to push the conversation forward. Before she lost her nerve, she blurted out, "I lied by omission when I said I found you fascinating, Elizabeth. It is more than that. I am drawn to you, to your fire, your aura, but I fear that it will burn me if I get close." Liara blushed and looked at the ground, kicking at nothing in particular as she wrung her hands in a nervous fashion. "I find myself still wanting to approach you though. I know we have known each other only a brief time but I cannot ignore the way I feel about you. I… don't suppose you feel it too, do you?"

Relief flooded Shepard's body in a rush of endorphins, her mind calming as she won the battle over her frayed nerves. 'So she felt it too…' Shoving herself off of the door she was leaning on, Shepard approached Liara, who was still facing the floor in a rather adorable display of shyness. Shepard took a calming breath and hooked a finger on her right hand under the chin of the young asari, pulling her face up to look into bright blue eyes. Shepard let out a short chuckle. "I noticed it the moment I saw you in those ruins. Something clicked in my head and I felt like I had known you forever." Shepard's face grew hot in a deep blush as she continued, her face and chest a deep red. "I don't think I was the only one to notice it either… Tevos called me into her office after our session. She had noticed my 'aura', she called it. Said it changed whenever you were mentioned. I think she was trying to protect you…" Shepard trailed off.

Liara closed her eyes and made a silent prayer thanking the Goddess for not making her look like a fool with an unreturned affection. Biting her lip she opened her eyes again and stared into Shepard's deep green eyes with a newfound sense of wonder. "I am not… that is to say, I don't have any experience with anything like this Elizabeth. This is all so new exciting. What do we do?" Shepard smiled softly, her voice laced with care. "We just see where this takes us. We get swept up into the storm, and see how far we go."

Liara felt a shiver run down her spine as she smiled at Shepard. "You make it sound so dangerous, so thrilling." Shepard shrugged as her lopsided smirk appeared on her face, once again feeling confident in herself. "I'll protect you. We'll go slow and not make any moves before you're ready, okay?" Liara nodded and stepped into Shepard, touching her forehead to Shepard's. Shepard couldn't tell how long they were standing like that, but it had to have been a great while as her leg had started to ache from prolonged use.

Letting out a heavy sigh, she backed up, putting her hands on Liara's shoulders and staring into her eyes. "Speaking of protecting you, I have a gift for you." Shepard pulled up the specs of the colossus armor and beamed them over to Liara's omnitool. "It just arrived on board. Top of the line, fresh off the shelves. Grab one of the new pistols that got delivered too. I… I just found you Liara. I am not about to lose you so soon. This armor will see to that." Liara stared at the specs on her omnitool for a few seconds. She had known the armor by name, most asari did if they had any commando training. It was renowned galaxy-wide for being the very best in physical protection. It's shielding was lacking compared to the predator line, but augmented with Liara's own biotic barrier, this armor would protect her like none other. That protection came at a price though, and Liara knew it. This armor was expensive, exorbitantly so.

"Shepard… this is too much. This armor alone is nearly one hundred thousand credits. I cannot take this…" Shepard ran a hand through her hair, letting out a sigh. "I was kinda hoping you wouldn't know how much that armor cost. But really, Liara, it's fine. I have the credits from salvaging some artifacts we came across while running errands for Hackett. I also spoke with Chief Williams about a plan to get the whole crew outfitted with that armor. You're just the first one to get it. Wear it, please. If not for yourself then for me. I need you alive long enough to know what we have between us."

Liara nodded in acceptance, thanking Shepard for her new armor. Shepard left the room with a smile and a wave, turning back into the med bay to see doctor Chakwas standing at her desk with a knowing smile on her face. "Commander Shepard. You were in there with our young prothean expert for quite some time. Anything I need to know about, Commander?" Shepard felt the heat rising to her face again, her honorary aunt being too keen to miss such an obvious reaction. Shepard quickly left the med bay before the heat had a chance to burn through her skin and turn her to ash in the middle of the room. Heading straight for her own quarters, she jumped into bed face down and quickly fell asleep, a goofy smile firmly planted on her face.


	3. Chapter 3

Author's note: Hello again all! This chapter is the size of chapters one and two combined. I did not intend for this to happen, but could not find a good place to split it up. I have redone parts of this chapter a couple times and can't get to a place where I am happy with it, so I am just going to post it and hope for the best.

...

It had been several long days since Shepard and Liara had confessed their feelings for one another in the med bay on board the Normandy. The two had been spending quite a bit of time together since then sharing stories of their upbringing, battles fought, and digsites explored. Shepard's leg continued to heal and she had decided it was time to follow up on a recent report on Feros. Several hours ago, the Normandy was informed that the small colony on Feros had stopped reporting in. Seeing as there were no other leads in the investigation into Saren, Shepard ordered all crew back to the Normandy and plotted a trip to Feros in the navicomputer. The trip would be a rather long one, due in no small part to the need to travel through 3 relay jumps. While the jumps themselves would be quick, waiting for the relays to align properly could take a while depending on their alignment at the time of their arrival. After that it would be a short FTL burn to bring them to their final destination of Feros in the Theseus system.

With nothing left to do but wait, Shepard made her way to the med bay to see if she could get cleared for ground side operations. As she stepped into the med bay, doctor Chakwas was in the middle of finishing up restocking the medical supplies on board. While she put up quite a fight, she eventually agreed to let the Commander off of her light duty restriction. Shepard was relieved that she did not have to pull the Spectre card. While she was there, she mentioned the recurring nightmares she had been having since the interaction with the beacon on Eden Prime. Chakwas expressed concern, but admitted there was nothing she could do about nightmares. "Perhaps the asari, with their ability to meld nervous systems, have a treatment regimen for such an affliction. Sadly, I do not. I am sorry, Elizabeth, I wish I could do more." Shepard waved Karin off and shrugged her shoulders saying she would cope with them best as she could.

Heading out of the med bay, intent on heading to her quarters to rest up before the landing on Feros, she was surprised to see Tali out of the engineering compartment. Instead, she was sitting at the mess hall table having a rather animated discussion with Ashley. As Shepard approached, Ashley made a subtle motion of warning to Tali who turned around and locked eyes with the commander. Though most of her face was hidden behind the visor of her ever present suit, Shepard got the impression that she was none too pleased with her. Before she could ask what was wrong, the young quarian girl stormed off and took the elevator back down to the engineering deck, leaving one bewildered Commander Shepard behind.

Turning to Ashley, she wondered aloud. "What in the hell was that about?" Shepard could not think of a reason for the quarian to be cross with her. In fact, Shepard had been feeling like Tali was a little sister like the one she had lost so long ago. Ashley curled inward in her seat, making herself as small as possible in an effort to avoid Shepard's gaze, to no avail. "Ash, mind filling me in?" The woman in question looked positively uncomfortable and glanced around to make sure nobody else was in the mess hall at the early hour. With a grimace, she leaned forward and put her head in her hands, her elbows planted on the table as Shepard sat down across from her. "Do I want to know, Ash?" Ashley quickly shook her head. "Is it about me?" Ashley nodded. Shepard sighed heavily. The only thing she could think of that would have anyone upset was how much time she had been spending with a particular young asari. "Is it about Liara?" Ash nodded again.

"Are you going to make me beg, Ash? What is going on?" Ashley raised her head from out of her hands and met the commander's eyes with a pleading look, clearly not wanting to be the one to explain the situation. After and expectant look from Shepard, however, she quickly laid it all out before her. Apparently, Liara had found a companion in Tali during her brief time aboard the ship. The two had become fast friends, and as such, Liara had shared with Tali how she felt about Shepard. This in itself was not a problem, but the young quarian, used to being on a communal ship, had not kept this information strictly to herself. Aboard a quarian ship, there was no expectation of keeping something like this to one's self. Unfortunately Lieutenant Alenko had caught wind of this bit of information and approached Tali, asking how she knew such things.

It had become readily apparent that Kaidan was infatuated with Shepard as well, which Tali took as meaning that Shepard was encouraging both Liara and Kaidan to pursue their romance. In Tali's mind, Shepard wasn't being faithful to either person, and was furious at Shepard for misleading Liara. Shepard let out a weary sigh at the end of Ashley's story as she struggled to come up with some way to spare Alenko's feelings while making it clear to Tali that she only had interest in Liara. "Any recommendations, Ash? I am a little out of my depth here. You're the deep soul in this relationship. What should I do?"

Ashley pondered for a few minutes, trying to think of a way to delicately navigate a way through this situation. "Tell you what, Skipper. I'll talk to Kaidan. Let him off the hook gently. I am sure once he knows you are already involved with someone he will back off. In the meantime, you have to go talk to Tali." This time it was Shepard who buried her face in her hands. 'This shit is why I haven't had a relationship in years.' "Alright, Ash. I'll go talk to Tali. And Ash? Thank you. You're a good friend." With a kind smile, Ashley stood from the table and went to go talk to Kaidan. Meanwhile, Shepard pushed off of the table and headed for her quarters. Stepping inside, she paged Tali to meet her there and sat down behind her desk, waiting for the young quarian to appear.

When Tali finally arrived, she was expectedly terse with Shepard. "You called for me, Captain?" Shepard waved for Tali to take a seat and leaned her arms against the table, smiling at the young quarian. "No titles in here, Tali. I'm just Shepard, you know that." Tali slammed her gloved hand down on the table, shouting at Shepard. "Then just what do you think you are doing, you slimy bosh'tet! Liara trusts you and you betray her by courting Kaidan as well!? Liara is my friend, and I won't stand by and let you trick her into loving you when you don't hold an ounce of respect for her!" Shepard placed her hands in the air, signaling for peace from the irate quarian, a gentle smile on her face. "First off, thank you for being such a good friend to Liara. I am glad to know she has found someone on this ship that she can speak to freely. Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, I am not now, nor have I ever, courted Kaidan. Kaidan is a fellow officer. As such there are rules in place that forbid personal relationships. That point aside, he isn't my type."

Tali fixed Shepard with a skeptical glare. "You aren't lying to me, are you? You really do intend to stand by Liara?" "Of course, Tali. I would never lie about something so serious. And I would never lie to you, you should know that. You're like family to me." Tali finally slumped down in her chair, her anger gone, leaving her deflated. "Oh… in that case, I am sorry I called you a slimy bosh'tet. You and Liara are the only friends I have on this ship… I didn't want to have to choose between the two of you if she found out." Shepard smiled and stood up from her chair, walking around her desk to stand next to Tali. "Well, luckily that won't happen. Why don't you head back down to engineering or get some rest. We are all going to be going groundside once we hit Feros. I'll meet up with you once we dock at the colony."

As Shepard watched the young quarian walk away back towards the elevator, she shook her head, wondering how she managed to get in this predicament in the first place. Shrugging her shoulders, she walked back into her room and laid down on her bed, setting an alarm on her omnitool for a thirty minute call out before they reached Feros.

…

Shepard woke up with a start as her omnitool started buzzing on her wrist. She had been under the spell of her nightmares when her alarm went off, and she was quite happy to be back in the waking world. Heading down to the hangar bay, she made sure everyone was suited up and ready to go. Shepard was the last to be kitted out and noticed one of the new spectre armament pistols was missing. Turning to Liara, she was pleased to see it docked on her hardsuit. Taking one for herself, she tossed the remaining one to Tali. "Alright people, we have new reports from this colony. Last report before it went dark was a geth sighting. Expect a heavy geth presence. Liara, Wrex, you are with me. Tali, Kaidan, Ash, you are B team. We will all head in to the colony proper together. Garrus, you are overwatch. Find a high spot and get comfortable. Also, everyone be sure to collect any geth weapons you find. They are valuable and we could use the credits. Any questions?"

Everyone on the ground team looked at each other then turned back to Shepard shaking their heads. "Good. Let's move out. Keep your shields on, even in the colony. Biotics, keep your barriers up. No telling what will be waiting for us once we get out there, so if you need to fuel up, do it now." With that, everyone filed into the elevator and made their way through the CIC to the forward airlock. Once the cycle finished, they all stepped out onto the docking platform and were greeted by a colonist. Just as he informed them they must speak to the colonist leader, Fai Dan, a geth hopper appeared out of nowhere and shot the man in the back of the head. Before his body even hit the ground, Garrus shouted "Geth up top" and blasted this offending hopper with a high explosive round from his rifle. The slippery synthetic dropped to the ground in a heap before anyone else had to draw their weapon.

Liara had seen death before, but found herself unnerved by the dead colonist in front of her. He had been innocent, and the bright red blood forming a puddle around his head gave her flashbacks to when Shepard has risked her own life to rescue her. Sensing her unease, the old krogan at her side gave her a small push on the back, urging her forward to catch up with the rest of the team. "C'mon kid. You'll get used to it. Just keep your head up and watch out for geth." Liara shook her head to clear it and mumbled out under her breath, "Goddess, I hope I never grow used to that."

The rest of the trip to the center of the colony was relatively uneventful. Pockets of geth littered the colony, but not in any numbers able to slow down the force Shepard had assembled. Particularly devastating to the geth lines was Tali's tech abilities. The young quarian tech expert was a genius with an omnitool and spent the battles huddled behind cover, overloading shields, overheating weapons, and harassing the entrenched geth with combat drones. Finally reaching the center of the colony, the team addressed the colony leader, Fai Dan. After a quick discussion they had learned that the geth had attacked in force and taken over the Exo-Geni building across the skyway. Also, the colony was on the verge of collapse. Food, water, and power were all scarce, but the colonists had plans for how to fix that if they could get some help from the Normandy team.

Shepard turned to her squad and started handing out orders. A-team would go to the Exo-Geni headquarters and find out what had the geth here in such numbers. Meanwhile, B-team would handle everything required to get the colony self sufficient again. As Shepard wrapped up the brief huddle, one of the guards called out more incoming geth and the battle for Zhu's Hope began.

Shepard and Wrex took point as geth poured out of the tower in front of them, each blasting away at the approaching geth line with incendiary shotgun blasts mixed with biotic attacks. While Shepard and Wrex distracted the enemy with bold attacks, the rest of the team lit up the opposing line with a mix of biotic, tech, and weapons attacks. The team was progressing rather quickly into the tower from which the geth were pouring when a hulking red prime platform stomped into view. Not one to make the same mistake twice, Shepard ordered all squad members to focus fire on the towering geth. Within seconds it's shields were stripped and Shepard threw a vicious warp at the target as Liara caught it with a powerful throw. The resultant explosion from the two fields of dark matter interacting rocked the prime platform back and destroyed several lesser platforms that were unlucky enough to be standing next to the target.

Wrex, never one to be outdone let out a challenging roar and rushed the staggered behemoth. In an impressive display of strength, the krogan picked up the prime and heaved it over the edge of the stairs down a seemingly endless stairwell. The battle wrapped up fairly quickly after that, and soon they found themselves at the end of a long hallway with a geth signal jammer. A quick shotgun blast disabled the annoying device and the squad made to head back towards the colony, stopping to pick up weapons that littered the ground as they went. Reaching the elevator, the squad split up. A-team took the elevator to the skybridge that would take them to the Exo-Geni building. B-team took to the tunnel system to find a new power source, open up the water pipes, and kill a rather troublesome varren that was preventing the hunters from finding food for the settlement.

After exiting the elevator, Shepard, Wrex, and Liara found themselves in a rather large garage, a mako conveniently parked and ready to go for them. Stomping on the accelerator, Shepard weaved her way through a debris field and set her sights on two geth armatures that sat in the middle of the road. Shepard barked her orders and brought the vehicle to a halt behind a rather conveniently placed shipping crate. "Wrex, man that cannon. Liara, you keep our shields up and an eye on our radar." While the vehicle was mostly hidden behind the shipping container, the large 155 mm mass accelerator cannon was not. This allowed Wrex to hammer the annoying geth platforms without having to take a single shot in return.

Satisfied that the geth armatures were down for the count, Shepard brought the mako back into the open and began traversing the large skybridge. Numerous geth troopers, snipers, and rocket troopers littered the path, but those that were not blasted away by the cannon were simply chewed up by the mako's six massive tires. Progress was made quickly, and before they knew it, the team had crossed the first of the bridges and were at the weigh station. A radio signal prompted them to halt the mako and explore the origins of the transmission. Upon walking down a short tunnel, they ran into a group of Exo-Geni survivors, led by a man named Ethan Jeong. Shepard took an immediate disliking to Jeong, but pressed the survivors for more details. Apparently, there was one employee unaccounted for, a Lizbeth Baynham. Her mother asked the team to keep a look out for her.

Sensing there was little else to be done for these people, Shepard ordered her team back to the mako and set off across the remaining bridge separating them from the Exo-Geni headquarters. The remaining drive took only minutes and the team soon found themselves at a doorway that the mako could not fit through. Sighing at the necessity of leaving the safety of the mako, Shepard jumped out of the unwieldy tank and waited for her team to form up before signaling them onward. "I don't like this. Keep sharp, this is the perfect place to set up an ambush."

Luckily Shepard's caution was unnecessary. The only resistance they found was a small number of geth hoppers and a couple rocket troopers. Wrex blasted the rocket troopers with his shotgun as he charged into the room. Meanwhile, Shepard and Liara went to work on the geth hoppers. Nimble as they were, they were incredibly hard to hit, but Shepard had learned on Therum that they were extremely vulnerable to biotics. Telling Liara this information resulted in them both launching a lift at the hoppers, Shepard snaring one into the air while Liara managed to catch two in her lift field. Shepard took out her new pistol and fired off three shots, each one disabling a geth platform.

Liara watch in admiration at the mechanical-like precision with which Shepard dispatched the floating targets. By the time the hoppers were down, Wrex had finished off his targets with single minded ferocity that left Liara wondering what she was doing on such a potent ground team. Her face set into a determined grin, making up her mind that she was going to do whatever she could to prove she belonged on the ground with Shepard, Liara pressed on leading them to a room at the far side of the chamber they were in. As she keyed open the door, she saw the hibernating form of a geth armature. She quickly backed out of the room and shut the door, tiptoeing away as fast as she could, earning a chuckle from Wrex. Wrex sauntered up to the door and opened it up, only to find the geth platform staring right at him. Shepard peered around the hulking krogan to catch sight of what had stopped him in his tracks and let out a very unprofessional guffaw as the old battlemaster silently shut the door and walked impressively quietly away from the now sealed room. Unable to fault them for their reactions, Shepard led the team away from the geth tank and over to a collapsed staircase.

Wrex peered down the short drop and commented dryly, "Looks like a one way trip Shepard. You sure this is the right way?" Shepard chuckled and made a show of jumping down the hole only to leap her way out of it again. "One way for you maybe, but I think we can take the risk. C'mon." Jumping down into the hole again, Shepard rounded a corner into a large garage area only to be met by a pack of very hungry varren. The fishdogs were locked onto her immediately and were closing the distance fast. As they leapt into the air, Shepard drew her pistol to pick them off one at a time, when a sphere of dark energy winked into existence. The powerful singularity picked up the pack of fishdogs and tore them apart limb from limb before disappearing, leaving a pile of very disgusting remains on the ground a few feet in front of Shepard. Turning to Liara, Shepard found her to be very pleased with herself, if not a bit green looking at the sight of all of the viscera.

As Shepard opened her mouth to offer some praise to the young asari, a shot rang out and Shepard's barrier flared as a small projectile was deflected away from her. Shepard turned to see a very scared looking scientist pointing an M3 predator pistol at her. "Are you shitting me," Shepard growled at the woman. The woman stammered out a response after quickly dropping the pistol on the ground. "I...I'm sorry. I thought you were varren…" Shepard covered her face with her hand in an effort to keep from blowing up at the woman. After a brief conversation, it was discovered that this was the missing employee, Libeth Baynham. When asked if the woman knew why the geth were here, her only guess was the Thorian. She said she didn't know much about it, but handed over her employee badge, giving them her access to the building. She also warned them that an energy shield was blocking the only exit. Shepard left the woman there with instructions to hide, telling her that they would be back to collect her on the way out of the building.

As the team climbed the stairs out of the garage, they could hear an angry, gravelly voice yelling at someone or something. As they approached the sound, they stumbled upon an irate krogan yelling at a VI terminal. Wrex pushed his way past Shepard and Liara and drew his shotgun. Pulling up a hand wrapped in the white-blue glow of eezo, the large krogan made a pulling motion and yanked the other krogan away from the VI terminal with his biotics. As the krogan soared through the air towards Wrex, the old battlemaster popped him in the face with his shotgun, a pulpy orange spray of blood and brains splattering the wall behind the target. Shepard had nimbly dodged out of the way and yelled at the old krogan. "Fuck, Wrex, that is so gross!" Liara nodded in agreement and closed her eyes in an effort to suppress her rising nausea.

The next few minutes were spent with the VI, learning about the Thorian. Apparently Exo-Geni was using this sentient plant to study it's mind control abilities. The whole colony of Zhu's Hope was apparently under the control of this strange entity. To say Shepard was angry would be a gross understatement, and Liara could actually feel the rolling waves of seething anger in Shepard's aura. Fearing that Shepard was close to losing control of her biotics in her anger, Liara placed a hand on Shepard's shoulder. Though Shepard could not feel the warmth of her hand against her skin, the result was immediate. Shepard took a deep breath and let it out very slowly as she placed her hand atop Liara's. She gave Liara an appreciative gaze as she turned to continue up the stairs.

The quest to shut down the energy barrier blocking the exit brought them to a geth dropship clinging to the exterior of the building. Energy supplied by the dropship was powering the barrier and the only way to stop the power was to destroy the dropship. Liara theorized that simply destroying one of the hooks anchoring the ship to the building should be enough to cause the ship to fall. As they didn't have the weapons to destroy the ship, and couldn't raise the Normandy on the comms, they went with Liara's idea. The first two anchors they found were too solidly connected to the building to do anything with. They caught a lucky break at the third claw when they noticed it had entered a window with a pressurized shutter on it. Seeing a way forward, the team made their way to the control center to override the shutter. As they approached the stairway down towards the controls, they saw a large number of geth protecting the device, along with a geth prime.

Stepping back from the edge of the stairs to get some room to plan, Shepard asked her team if they had any ideas to take down the inordinate number of hostiles. Wrex spoke in an unusually quiet voice, undoubtedly not liking their chances with the current way of things. "I say we hit em hard and fast. Knock out the little ones first, leave the big guy for last. If we hit hard enough, we should be able to knock out most of them before the big guy even gets a shot off." Shepard shook her head, not ready to tangle with a geth prime again after what happened on Therum. "No way it will let us take down that many before it engages. Not to mention, the geth fight better when one of those big bastards is present. We need to disable it first." After several minutes of arguing between Shepard and Wrex, Liara made her presence known by quietly clearing her throat, her voice barely a shy whisper. "I can manage the prime while you take down the rest of the geth. I can guarantee it will not get a shot off… I think."

Shepard and Wrex stared unconvinced at the young asari, neither one able to come up with a plan that would distract a prime platform long enough to take down the ten or so other geth waiting for them. Finally Shepard took the bait. "Alright, T'Soni, what have you got for us?" Liara took a deep breath and explained her plan. As she spoke Wrex and Shepard glared at her with a critical eye. "I think I can hold the prime in stasis long enough to allow you two to do what you do best. I… I admit I have never tried to control something so powerful before, but I am confident I could hold it." Shepard didn't seem convinced, but Wrex seemed to be mulling it over while the commander voiced her concerns. "Are you sure about that Liara? The amount of power those things can generate is obscene. I could never think to be able to hold one of those in a stasis field for more than a few seconds. The mental strain would be… well I imagine it would have to be enormous."

Wrex seemed to have made up his mind as Shepard finished talking. His agreement with the plan shocked Shepard, but shocked Liara even more. His experience said it could be done though. "I'm with ya kid, I've seen asari do crazier shit with biotics than this. If we make it through this, remind me to tell you the story about this crazy bitch that stopped a speeding aircar with a flick of her wrist. Now THAT was impressive." Letting out a heavy sigh, Shepard shook her head and stood up out of her crouch. "Alright Liara, I'll signal when to start. Once we knock out all of the geth, I'll let you know to drop the stasis. If for ANY reason, you are close to losing control, you have to warn us. We will need time to get out of harm's way. Are you sure you are ready for this?" Liara took a deep breath and nodded slowly, feeling a bit more sure of her abilities after Wrex's encouragement.

Liara and Wrex both stood up slowly and Shepard put a supportive hand on Liara's shoulder, an encouraging smile on her face. "You've got this Liara. I trust you." With that final thought, Shepard ordered them back to the stairwell. Holding her hand in the air, she did a countdown on her fingers. When she reached one, Liara reached out her right arm and grabbed a fistful of air as she hit the prime with a stasis. Wrex and Shepard jumped down the stairs three at a time and crushed the geth forces as quickly as they could, both of them keeping a solid eye on the hulking geth prime as they cut through the mechanical horde. While their attack had been savage, it was far from one sided. Shepard took a rocket to the chest, her barrier fizzled out as it absorbed the impact of the explosion. Angered by the loss of her protective barrier, she drew up a fistful of dark energy and punched the rocket trooper in the chest, sending the geth clattering into the far wall. As she pulled up her shotgun to dispatch a rather aggressive trooper aiming to take advantage of her vulnerable state, she heard Liara scream her name.

With all of Liara's focus on maintaining the stasis, she was unable to maintain a biotic barrier in her own defense. While she had kept the prime in stasis, she was unable to keep it from uploading orders to the geth surrounding it. Apparently aware of who was holding it immobile, the prime had ordered a shock trooper with a clear line of sight to fire on Liara. The first few rounds were deflected by her shields. The following several rounds bounced harmlessly off of the colossus armor, but one lucky round managed to wedge itself into Liara's arm, tearing muscle and bouncing off of the bone. In her shock she began to lose control of the stasis field surrounding the prime platform. As more rounds bounced harmlessly off of her armor, she redoubled her efforts to control the prime and screamed out Shepard's name.

Shepard was immediately aware of what was taking place. Following the trail of tracers, she located the geth platform responsible for harming Liara. With an angry growl, she called on the eezo in her body to summon a fistful of warpfire and slung it at the shock trooper as hard as she could. She was satisfied to watch the burning dark matter blast through the thin armor plating on the trooper and turn most of it's upper body into slag. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed the prime moving slowly, struggling to overcome the stasis field surrounding it.

Liara was relieved when the incoming fire dropped off and refocused on her efforts with the geth prime. Her biotics were strong, but the geth prime was a powerful platform. She could tell the geth platform was breaking out of her stasis despite her best efforts. She could feel a searing headache start in the base of her skull and noticed a small trickle of blood coming from her nose. Gritting her teeth and tapping into a reserve of strength she never knew she had, Liara re established control over the struggling prime platform. Liara watched as the final geth trooper fell and allowed her stasis to finally fall off of the prime as she collapsed to her knees, using her hands to try to stop the flow of blood from her nose.

Seeing Liara fall as the geth broke free caused a panic to bloom in Shepard's chest. An unholy fervor took hold of her as she launched repeated throws against the prime. Wrex was right beside the prime, unloading shotgun blasts as fast as the heatsink would allow. As the prime's shields collapsed, Shepard's throws started having a greater impact. The first one slammed into the prime and caved in it's chestplate. The second one blasted clear through it and threw the prime against the wall directly behind it. The third crushed what remained of it's chest and head into the concrete of the wall, causing the light that was it's face to go out. As the last throw hit, Shepard's biotic implant overheated and shut down to prevent damage to the surrounding tissue. Shepard grimaced and figured she had about 20 minutes until she could use biotics again. Of greater concern to her was Liara.

Shepard ran up the stairs two at a time and slid on her knees to a stop next to Liara, who was now laying on the ground face down. Shepard carefully rolled Liara over and gasped when she saw the puddle of purple she had been laying in. Taking off her glove she felt for a pulse on Liara's neck and breathed a sigh of relief when she found one. While Shepard was taking care of Liara, Wrex was busying himself at the terminal, overriding safety measures and shutting the pressurised shutter, cutting the anchoring claw in half. As the ship plummeted to the earth, Shepard's comms came back online, Joker's voice cutting through the static. "Normandy to shore party. Shore party, come in." Shepard perked up at the sound of her comms working again and wasted no time in answering the call. "Shepard here. We took down the communication barrier but Liara is down for now. I think she just passed out from exhaustion, but have Chakwas prep the med bay regardless. Can you get a shuttle to our position?"

Joker came back quickly, "Negative commander, the locals have surrounded the ship and are banging on the hull, no idea what is going on. We are locked down tight." Shepard sighed in resignation. "Alright Normandy, we will make our own way back, sit tight and keep the locals out of the ship. Don't open anything until we give the all clear. Shepard out." Turning her attention back to Liara she gently slapped Liara's cheek, calling her name. "C'mon Liara, time to get up. Don't make me carry you all the way to the mako. Wake up, Liara. C'mon, I need you."

Liara gasped as her eyes fluttered open, Shepard's face taking up her entire view. "I could get used to waking up to this view…" Shepard blushed a deep red at Liara's admission, clearly she was still a bit out of it. As Liara snapped back to the present she turned a deep purple, matching Shepard's blush. "Goddess… I didn't just say that out loud, did I?" From behind them both they heard a hearty krogan laugh, making both of them blush even harder. "Yeah you did kid. And what a quad you got on you! I've never seen a biotic power like that! I doubt I could have pulled that off, kid." Liara slowly sat up, holding her aching head in both hands as she spoke. "What do you mean, you never have seen anything like that? What about the speeding aircar?" Wrex let out another boisterous laugh. "You actually believed that shit? Now way a biotic could stop an aircar. I was just trying to make you feel like you could do it!"

Liara would have been furious if she could manage to think past her headache. As it was, Shepard had to be angry on her behalf. "What in the hell were you thinking, telling her that? What if she lost control? That thing would have ripped us all to pieces! Not to mention what would have happened if she hadn't released her stasis!" The big krogan shrugged, clearly unimpressed with Shepard's argument. "She didn't, and it didn't. We're alive, it isn't. There wasn't another way through the room, Shepard. No point worrying what could have been." Shepard grumbled as she helped Liara to her feet, handing her a canteen from her hardsuit. "Drink this, it should help you recover. I think you just overexerted yourself is all. Does your head feel okay? Any nausea, dizziness, tiredness?" Liara placed a calming hand on Shepard's chest, draining the offered drink before shaking her head softly. "I will be fine Shepard. I think you are right. I have never had to exert myself like that before. I think I just overdid it a bit. I… thank you for your help. And your concern."

Shepard placed the empty canteen back onto it's dock on her hardsuit before pulling out another and draining it herself. Shepard could feel the early warning signs of biotic shock in her body and couldn't help but wonder if Liara was in the same condition. "Alright Wrex, you take point. Liara and I are tapped for a while. Let's get back to the weigh station and drop off miss Baynham." Luck was on their side, as it would seem that they had wiped out all of the opposition on the way into the compound. Their way out was uneventful and gave Shepard's implant time to cool off. Liara was looking less pale and the energy drink seemed to have perked her up a bit by the time they reached the mako.

The drive back to the weigh station was short, with sporadic bits of opposition that didn't even slow the mako down. As they arrived at the weigh station, Lizbeth jumped out of the mako and ran down the ramp to the area housing the Exo-Geni survivors. As the ground team followed her, they saw Ethan Jeong holding a gun to Juliana's head. Lizbeth ran into the room shouting at Ethan, forcing the ground team to cover her in her reckless charge. As her squad fanned out, Shepard pulled out her pistol and took aim at Ethan's forehead, her finger lightly feathering the trigger. "Give me an excuse, Jeong. I'm dying to pull the trigger. I know all about your sick experiments with the locals." Jeong proceeded to defend his actions and claim that Exo-Geni wanted the settlement purged, all the while keeping his focus solely on Shepard. Just as it seemed Jeong was about to pull the trigger, his whole body froze, trapped in stasis.

Shepard walked up and pistol-whipped Jeong in the temple. As the stasis was released, he crashed to the floor in a boneless heap. Shepard looked expectantly at the man's henchmen and they all quickly lowered their weapons. Having wrapped up that particular bit of nonsense, Shepard turned to leave before Juliana stopped her, explaining that there was a way to incapacitate the locals without killing them. Juliana gave them some gas grenades and sent them on their way. On the way back to the mako Shepard thanked Liara for her timely intervention and divvied out the grenades she had been given. There weren't many, so they had to make them last.

Another rather uneventful drive over a skybridge saw them back at the garage they had started their journey at. Unfortunately the door was locked and refused to open as the mako came close. Shepard stepped out of the mako and approached the door's controls only to stop short as she saw a humanoid form crouched on the ground next to the controls. Readying her shotgun, she crept closer to the door controls, keeping her eye on the motionless form. As she got closer, the creeper rose to it's feet and charged Shepard. Her shotgun switched to incendiary, the creeper was turned to a pile of burning goo with two shots. She hit the door controls and motioned for her team to exit the mako and join her. As soon as the door opened, she was under fire from the colonists, under the control of the Thorian.

Ducking behind the mako, her team prepared for the creeper horde that was pressing in on them. Luckily they were extremely weak against biotics and shotguns, so Wrex was tearing through them. It came as a shock then, when a creeper regurgitated a foul green substance onto Wrex, causing him to howl in pain as it bypassed his shields and barrier. Wrex fell back to the mako, blasting away with his shotgun as he retreated before crouching down behind the vehicle. "Corrosive spit. Burned through my shields. Don't let them get close."

With Wrex's warning in mind, the group made slow progress through the group of creepers, being sure to keep them at a good distance. When all of the creepers were taken care of, Shepard primed and tossed a grenade at the group of colonists that had been peppering them with potshots. As a cloud of gas erupted from the small disk, the group of colonists fell to the ground, giving the squad a chance to catch their breath. After a brief rest, the group was back on the move. Progress was slow as they made their way back to Zhu's Hope. The gas grenades made dealing with the colonists much easier, and the creepers were not much of a match for Wrex and Shepard as they unloaded their shotguns. On Shepard's orders, Liara had been hanging back, taking precision shots with her pistol to give her biotics a break.

Finally they arrived at Zhu's Hope and encountered Fai Dan struggling against the Thorian's control. As he pointed a pistol to his own head and pulled the trigger, Shepard closed her eyes as the pistol barked, claiming Fai Dan's life. Shepard made her way back to the Normandy to meet up with the B-team. Incapacitating the colonists crowding around the airlock, they gave the Normandy the all clear. Garrus, Tali, Kaidan and Ashley piled out of the airlock and joined Shepard's squad. As a group they made their way back to the hidden entrance to the Thorian's lair and descended under the colony.

As they made their way through winding hallways, they encountered only token resistance by the Thorian creepers. Finally exiting the claustrophobic hallways, they were greeted by the sight of an enormous plant. As they approached it, a grotesque tube with tentacles dangling out of it disgorged a green asari in commando leathers. The commando addressed them and indicated that it spoke for the Thorian. It explained giving the cipher to Saren and Saren's subsequent betrayal. The Thorian then demanded their deaths and the commando attacked, backed up by several of the creepers.

The green commando was no match for the entirety of the Normandy's ground squad and was defeated in seconds. The team had been briefed on the creepers and they too fell quickly. As they made their way through the Thorians lair, shooting out the tendrils that held the massive plant aloft, they defeated multiple copies of the green commando and countless of the creepers. Shepard couldn't help but wonder how the commando had clothes if she was made by the plant, but it didn't seem important enough to mention to the group. As they shot away the last of the tendrils, the great plant fell into the central shaft of the building that it had been hovering over and was no more.

As the whole team watched the great plant fall, a growth on the wall spit out another asari, this one purple rather than green, though she bore the same facial features. At the sound of the asari falling to the ground, the whole team spun around and trained their sights on the asari. Liara cried out. "Wait! By the Goddess! Shiala, is that you?!" Liara ran forward and helped the purple asari to her feet as the team stood down. The purple asari seemed to be in shock as she asked, "Liara… what are you doing here?" Liara filled her in on her joining Shepard on her quest. At the mention of Shepard, Shiala's eyes grew wide and she addressed the commander. "Saren knows of you, knows you are following him. He sacrificed me to the Thorian in exchange for the cipher. He then betrayed the Thorian to keep you from getting the cipher. I am in your debt for my timely rescue." Shepard inquired as to whether she could get the cipher and Shiala explained that the cipher was not an object, but rather a frame of mind possessed by the protheans that included their culture, knowledge and experiences. Shiala explained that she possessed the cipher and could pass it to Shepard through a knowledge meld.

The ground crew quickly dispersed, heading back to the Normandy and securing the area as Shepard glanced over at Liara. Shiala caught the subtle motion and was overcome with curiosity. "Why do you hesitate, Shepard. Liara, are you… I apologize, it is not my place. If you need time to think it over Shepard, I will wait." Shepard walked over to Liara who was looking rather concerned, her eyes following Shiala as she walked away to inspect the remains of the Thorian. Taking Liara's hand into her own, Shepard whispered to keep her conversation private. "What is it Liara? Do you not trust Shiala?" Liara shook her head and responded in a similarly muted voice, facing the ground as she spoke. "It is not that I do not trust her Shepard. She trained me since I was a child. I have the utmost trust in her. I… this is… this is foolish. You must accept the meld and take the cipher. We cannot lose the trail on Saren." Shepard hooked her finger under Liara's chin as she had done so many days ago and forced Liara to look into her eyes. "Tell me, Liara. If it has to do with you, I don't think it is foolish…" Liara chewed on her bottom lip for a few seconds before building up the courage to voice her concerns. "It is jealousy, Shepard. That Shiala will meld with you when I have not yet done so. I know we are taking things slow, but it pains me that this must be done. I will bear this pain, Shepard. Please, take the cipher from Shiala and come back to me."

Shepard let out a heavy sigh and placed her forehead against Liara's. After a few seconds she backed away and approached Shiala. "Alright Shiala, give me the cipher. I am ready." Shiala turned to face Shepard and closed her eyes, centering herself as she spoke. "Embrace Eternity."

…...

Shepard woke up in the med bay again, Liara laying in the med bed next to her, fast asleep. Shepard's breath caught in her throat as she brushed her hand over Liara's cheek, the young asari purring contentedly in her sleep before she woke with a start. "Goddess, Shepard, you are awake. I am… or I was terribly worried. You passed out after Shiala passed the cipher to you." Liara blushed as she continued. "I hope you do not mind… Karin said you were having nightmares again… I thought I would keep you company…" Shepard placed a finger over lilac lips, shushing the rambling asari. "I do not mind, Liara. In fact, I agree with an earlier statement of yours. I could get used to waking up with this view…" Liara's face turned a deep purple as Shepard spoke. As Shepard moved her finger, Liara haltingly leaned in and placed a chaste kiss on pale pink lips. As her kiss landed, Karin Chakwas made her presence known with a gentle cough. "Right then Commander, I will take that as a sign that you both are feeling a bit better from your previous exertions." Shepard chuckled into Liara's lips before backing away, staring into Liara's eyes for a few moments. "Sorry about that, doc, but couldn't you have kept quiet for a few more seconds?"

Karin laughed as she pulled out her omnitool and walked up to the side of Shepard's bed. "Not likely, Commander. Besides, this will only take a few moments, then I will leave you both alone to rest." Karin clicked her tongue disapprovingly as she waved her omnitool over Shepard, then Liara. "You are both on the edge of biotic shock. Commander, you have evidence of your amp overheating. Liara, you have shrapnel in your arm and evidence of some trauma from overdoing it with your biotics. If I didn't know any better I would guess you both tried to lift a tank with your biotics. I can remove the shrapnel easily enough and close up the wound in your arm. You both need to replenish your eezo levels. Dietary intake should be enough to bring them back up to acceptable levels." With the diagnostics out of the way, doctor Chakwas prepped to take the projectile out of Liara's arm. Even with a local anesthetic, this would not be a pleasant experience. Liara laced her fingers between Shepard's and gripped her hand has Karin dug around in her arm for a few moments. Liara buried her face in Shepard's neck and Shepard whispered supportively as she gently rubbed her cheek.

Liara gave a sigh of relief and regained her composure as the bullet was taken from her arm. She couldn't help but blush at her familiar display as Chakwas had dug around in her arm. Doctor Chakwas then sealed the wound shut with medigel and slapped a dressing over it. "There we are dear. That will heal up quickly. Give it a few days and you will never know it happened. Go get washed up and grab something to eat while I finish up with our fearless commander." Liara hopped off of the med bed, holding Shepard's hand as long as she could before her feet carried her out of the med bay and into the mess hall.

As Liara slipped out of view, the door closing behind her, Karin turned her attention back to the cause of so much concern in her life. "Elizabeth, you will be staying here in the med bay tonight. While you were… incapacitated, I ran a brain scan. Similar to after using the beacon on Eden Prime, your brain's delta waves were completely off the charts, this time more so. And it wasn't just your delta waves this time. Across the board, your brain was running overtime the whole time you were out. Nothing lined up with human norms, and when I scanned you after you woke up, they still were not down to normal levels. This prothean information is doing something to you, Elizabeth. I don't know what it is, but it is scaring me. So tonight I will be monitoring you… monitoring the situation."

Shepard could only nod in response to all of the information the doctor was dumping on her. With a subdued tone, she voiced the concern that had grown over the course of their conversation. "Am I in danger? Can these changes kill me?" Karin shook her head slowly, mulling the question over before responding. "I don't think so Shepard… but I want to keep an eye on it all the same. Go get some chow and get cleaned up and report back here. I'll set up the scans and then give you some privacy for the night." Shepard slid off of the med bed and followed in Liara's footsteps, heading to the showers to wash off the grime of the day, passing Liara as she exited the washroom. "I'll meet you in the mess hall when I'm done. Save me some food, huh?"

After washing up, Shepard made her way out of the washroom and over to the mess hall. Seeing Liara sitting alone at a table, she grabbed a tray of food from the kitchen, being sure to grab items in the "biotics only" variety. Such items were loaded with eezo and were needed to replenish her reserves after a hard day of fighting. Shepard sat next to Liara and started to dig into her meal before noticing Liara was only pushing her food around on her tray without actually eating anything. "Something on your mind, Liara?" Liara was characteristically quiet in her reply, "Yes actually. I am worried about you. Both times you have interacted with anything prothean, you have been knocked unconscious. This knowledge is heavy on your shoulders. I worry that your mind is having trouble assimilating this information. I would like to lessen your burden, Elizabeth. Afterall, a weight shared is a weight reduced. What one mind cannot bear, perhaps two can"

Shepard sat silently for a while, chewing what was supposed to pass as carrots. 'Liara is an expert on all things prothean,' she thought to herself. 'Perhaps she could make sense of the visions…' Shepard let out a heavy sigh, ceding the point to Liara. "I would not be so eager to share this particular burden, Liara. These visions are… they are worse than anything I have ever experienced. But if you are certain you want to try, there is something you must know." Shepard took the time to explain to Liara about the changing of her brain waves, quickly pointing out that she wasn't in any danger that she knew of. Liara let out a breath of relief that she did not realize she was holding once she learned that Shepard was not in any immediate danger. They both agreed they would not try anything until the next morning, after Shepard had been monitored for the night.

Shepard took Liara's hand in her own and finished eating, encouraging Liara to do the same. Once they were both done eating, they walked hand in hand back to the med bay where they were met by a rather tired looking doctor Chakwas. "Alright, Shepard, up on the bed with you. I have setup the scanner to monitor all brain activity throughout the night." Shepard hopped up onto the indicated med bed and scooted over to the side as Liara climbed up next to her, eager to reclaim her spot from before. Karin let out a quiet chuckle and shook her head, walking to adjust the EEG to monitor only one of the two occupants of the bed. "I've got this locked onto your brainwaves, commander, but it is sensitive to positioning, so try not to move much throughout the night. I'll have you both know, this sleeping arrangement of yours is highly irregular. I will let it slide since you are both technically injured, but don't make me regret it. I expect you both to behave tonight."

Shepard gave a mock salute and watched as the doctor dimmed the lights and left the room for the night, heading for bed herself. Liara curled herself tight against Shepard's body, burying her face in the crook of Shepard's neck and crossing her arms against her own chest. Shepard draped a blanket over the two of them and it was not long before they both were fast asleep. For the first time since interacting with the beacon on Eden Prime, Shepard slept through the night without any trace of her nightmares.


	4. Chapter 4

Shepard's eyes slowly opened at 0600 to a view of pebbled blue skin. As she took in a deep breath, she was overwhelmed by the scent that was wholly Liara. Unable to think of anything she would rather be doing than laying with the beautiful asari next to her, Shepard shifted a bit to get more comfortable and spent the next half hour tracing small circles across Liara's skin, fascinated by the supple leather-like texture. At 0630 Karin walked into the room, causing Liara to finally awaken. "Good morning you two, I trust you slept soundly," doctor Chakwas asked with a smile as she made her to the terminal monitoring the commander. "I'll need some time to go over these results, Commander. Give me thirty minutes and I should have a better idea of where we stand."

Liara yawned and stretched as she got up from the med bed. Pulling Shepard up by the hand, Liara guided them both to the mess hall for breakfast, the asari eager to start their day. The mess hall was busy at this time of the day. The morning shift was getting ready to take over for the night shift after they had their morning meal. After they had both filled their trays with eezo-enhanced food, Shepard guided them to her personal quarters. Breakfast was a quiet affair until Liara broke the silence, her curiosity getting the better of her. "Elizabeth, why do you not eat with the rest of the crew during meal times? Have they done something to upset you?"

Shepard furrowed her brow in confusion before slowly shaking her head. She finished chewing a mouthful of eggs and swallowed before explaining to Liara, "It isn't that they have done anything to upset me, Liara. I just don't want to interrupt what little free time they have. People tend to clam up when their commanding officer is nearby." Liara tilted her head slightly to the side, further curiosity evident on her face. "That is rather interesting… it must be a human thing. From what training I have had on the subject, it would be seen as an affront for the commanding officer to skip meal time with her underlings on an asari ship. It is certainly seen as one for commando units stationed groundside among the great houses. Perhaps this has to do with the more communal nature of my people. Though, now that I think about it, I do not know how non asari, aside from humans, behave aboard a ship. Perhaps we asari are the odd ones."

Shepard chuckled softly, placing her right hand over Liara's on the table. "Truth be told, Liara, we are eating in here for another reason. I was being selfish. I didn't want to share you with everyone else. I want you all to myself, and I am not ashamed to admit that." Shepard's admission was met by a soft smile from Liara. Both ate in companionable silence for several more minutes before Shepard spoke again. "Liara... are you sure you want to see these visions? I know you have dedicated your adult life to all things prothean, but this isn't something you can unsee or unlearn… I don't want to see you suffer. I don't think I could handle... " Shepard trailed off as Liara gave her a stern gaze.

"Do you think I am a child, Elizabeth?" Shepard shook her head no, a faint grimace on her face as she realized she was about to be chastised. "Then you must think I am incapable of fending for myself?" Again Shepard shook her head. "If our roles were reversed, would you allow me to suffer alone when there is a chance you could do something to ease my burdens?" Shepard winced as if struck and answered softly, "Of course not, Liara." Letting out a quiet sigh she continued, "Alright, you've made your point. And I won't pretend I don't need the help. I can't continue on like nothing is wrong. Perhaps making sense of the visions will ease my nightmares." With that bit of business out of the way, the pair finished their meal and returned to the med bay, eager to hear the results of Shepard's test.

As they entered the room, the doctor wasted no time in discussing why they were there and jumped right in. "Shepard, Liara. I was just finishing my report on my findings for last night. I am sorry to say that I have no hard evidence for what I am about to tell you, but I believe I am on to something." As the doctor spoke, Shepard and Liara took seats next to each other and focused intently on the older british woman.

"Alright Karin, I'll take the bad news first," Shepard said with her usual cocky grin. The doctor responded with a laugh, "I've already given you the bad news, commander. I can't be certain of anything, but I am working based on a hunch. Now for the good news. I don't think this change is putting you in any danger. I think the beacon on Eden Prime started a chain of events that are still unfolding. We know these beacons were built by the protheans. We know they beam images, ideas, and thoughts directly into the brain. We also know that anyone who has directly interfaced with these beacons outside of an extraordinary lucky few have died, their brains completely fried by whatever the beacon implanted into the mind. Those are all things we know. Now here is where we wade into unfamiliar territory. I believe the beacons were only designed to interface directly with protheans. I think the only reason you survived is because you were able to adapt to the prothean norm. Your brain, for whatever reason, adjusted to accept the patterns and behaviors of a prothean. Commander… Elizabeth, I think your mind is quite literally changing."

Shepard sat back in her chair and blew out a breath of air, a puzzled look on her face as she struggled to process everything she had just been told. To Liara's credit, she was quick to accept the doctor's words. Part of her was very excited by the idea that Shepard might be something akin to a living prothean, at least mentally. The other part of her was concerned by what this would mean to Shepard. As if reading her mind, Shepard asked doctor Chakwas, "What does this mean for me, doc? More specifically, what will this cause in real world applications?" "Hard to say, Shepard. I suspect you will be able to interface with prothean technology more easily. As tied as they are to the mental state of the person using them, your biotics may also be impacted. You're the one with the brain full of prothean experiences, knowledge, and culture. What does the cipher contain that pertains to our current situation?"

Shepard's eyes were in constant movement, left to right, back and forth as she dug through her mind to see if anything stuck out as alien. After a few moments of this she shook her head. "It is still too much. I can't process everything that is in here," she tapped the side of her head as she spoke. "I think it is time for me to allow Liara to help. She has offered to meld with me in an effort to make sense of everything that is in my mind. Her prothean expertise may allow her to sort through the things that I cannot. At the very least, two minds might be able to do what one alone can't. That is, if you are still willing to try after everything we just discussed, Liara."

"Of course I still want to help, Elizabeth," Liara replied earnestly. Shepard smiled at Liara and stood up from her chair, pulling Liara up from hers and turned back to doctor Chakwas. "Thank you, Karin. I will keep you updated on anything that happens regarding this change." Doctor Chakwas nodded and waved as the couple left the med bay, turning her chair around to face her computer terminal.

Shepard dragged Liara back to her private quarters and guided them to the desk in her office. "Hey Li… who is Shiala," Shepard asked with just a hint of jealousy in her voice. Liara laughed, and Shepard found herself blushing, realizing now that she was being foolish. "Firstly, Shiala was the captain of the commandos of house T'Soni. She also personally oversaw my training for many years, including helping me hone my biotics. She was my mentor only. Secondly, 'Li'?" Shepard gave a goofy grin and queried, "Do you not like it? It kinda just came out…" Liara pondered it for a moment and decided she did in fact like it. Not so much the nickname itself, but the fact that only Shepard called her that. It felt… good. "I think I like it… when it is you saying it, anyway."

Shepard stepped closer to Liara and took her hands into her own. Pressing their foreheads together, they stood still for several moments revelling in the close contact. Liara took a step back and placed her hands on Shepard's shoulders. "Are you ready to let me into your mind, Elizabeth? I will admit to some eagerness regarding our meld." Shepard nodded her head. "I am ready, Li. I am rather eager myself. I could do without these nightmares. Just tell me what to do." Liara firmly pushed on Shepard's shoulders, pushing her towards the bed at the back of her office. "Be calm, Elizabeth. Focus on your breathing." Taking Shepard's hand into her own, she placed it upon her chest. "Focus on my heartbeat. Feel it surge beneath your touch in time with your own. Feel my mind as it caresses yours. Elizabeth… Embrace Eternity."

Having experienced melds a couple times before with both Shiala and Sha'ira, Shepard was ready for the feel of another mind against her own. Liara was surprised by how focused the commander was. No thoughts were detectable as she entered Shepard's mind. Rather, Liara was overwhelmed by raw emotions. Shepard's emotions felt so powerful, so violent, she could barely contain a gasp as the emotions rolled over her, enveloping her in their intensity. Having only ever melded with other asari, she was unsure whether this was how it was with all humans, or if this was something that was unique to Shepard. Liara's "voice" felt to her as if it was barely a whisper in the storm of Shepard's mind. 'Elizabeth… you must calm yourself.'

Shepard heard Liara "speak" in her head and sought out the light that was her presence. 'Liara, this _is_ calm.' After she sent that thought, she abandoned her meditative calm and chuckled softly as she heard Liara let out a loud gasp. Liara found herself awash in everything that was Shepard, her curiosity regarding the prothean beacons lost as she let herself dive into Shepard's mind. She was trapped in a whirlwind of emotions and let herself get swept up in the storm. Liara pressed her lips to Shepard's in a bruising kiss, her breath already coming in great ragged gasps. Shepard became aware of a wave of lust rolling off of Liara and clamped down on her own emotions and pushed Liara back, firmly but gently. 'Liara… not yet, not like this. Focus… remember why we are here.'

Liara took in several deep, centering breaths as she worked to calm herself. Shepard could feel embarrassment from Liara, and a small amount of regret at the loss of contact. 'Goddess… Elizabeth… I… I am so sorry.' 'It's okay, Liara, just… let me know when you get your bearings.' After two minutes of relative silence, Liara was refocused on her task. 'I am sorry, Elizabeth. I am ready. Show me the visions.' Shepard took a deep breath and brought forth the visions she had tried so hard to suppress.

Death. Destruction. Genocide. Fear. Hate. Pain. Machines tearing flesh and crushing bone. Twisted creatures killing what had once been their own people. The last images of a dying people. The last images that would exist of those who had come before. These are the images that assaulted Liara as she watched in silent horror. The same message, repeating over and over again as Shepard replayed it in her mind. When she had seen enough, Liara backed out of Shepard's mind and severed the link, black eyes returning to shimmering blue, wet with unshed tears.

Shepard took hold of Liara and sat down on the bed, pulling her to sit in her lap, her handing rubbing Liara's back in long soothing strokes. "Hey… talk to me, Li. Are you okay?" Liara nodded, her lips set in a grim line. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she leaned heavily on Shepard's chest. "I have studied the protheans for half of my life. I have written countless studies, published numerous papers and in your mind is the confirmation of everything I have strived to prove to the scientific community. I have never seen such horror. To witness the death of an entire species is not something easily accepted. I will be fine, in time. I… thank you for showing me."

Seeking to distract Liara from the horrors she had witnessed, Shepard asked, "So… you wanna talk about that kiss?" Liara let out a soft laugh, slapping Shepard's chest playfully as she wiped away her tears with the back of one hand. "You are so full of life, Elizabeth. I have never felt so much raw power. To be immersed in it was… overwhelming. I am… glad… you pushed me away. I would not have been able to control myself otherwise. I am going to lay down and meditate on what you have shown me. I am confident that by tonight I will be able to decipher what I have just seen." Shepard nodded and picked Liara up from her lap and placed her on her bed, pulling the blankets over her. "I am going to go talk to Shiala… you get some rest. I will check in on you after I take care of a bit of business." Shepard walked out of her quarters and the doors slid shut behind her, the sound of Liara's sob never reaching her ears.

…

Six hours later, Shepard plopped down onto a chair in the mess hall with a loud sigh, running her fingers through her hair as she ran through recent events. Her meld with Liara went well enough, though they had nearly stepped into a full Joining because Shepard couldn't help but tease Liara. She struggled to understand what had happened during the meld that caused Liara to lose her control so quickly. While she was aware it had happened right after her display of control, and subsequent lack thereof, she was struggling to see what that had to do with Liara being overtaken by desire. Perhaps Sha'ira could be of assistance when they next met. Until then, she would have to be extremely careful to maintain a meditative state when melding with Liara.

Her talk with Shiala had also gone well. While the asari was free from her captor, she did not feel she was ready to head back to Thessia yet. She felt she owed the colonists of Zhu's Hope her help first, and told Shepard she would stay and assist them, if Shepard would allow it. Seeing no reason to think the asari was being less than genuine, Shepard told her she would not interfere if that was her wish. After settling that, they had spoken for some time regarding Benezia and Saren, Shepard hoping she knew where they were headed next. Unfortunately, they had no destination in mind before they handed Shiala over to the Thorian. Waving farewell to the apologetic asari, Shepard had went back to the Normandy, ready to tell Joker to take them back to the Citadel when she received notification of an assignment directly from Admiral Hackett.

Apparently, the Alliance was using a VI to control a training facility on Luna. This VI had gone rogue and wiped out the team that was training there. Hackett felt that as an N7 operative, Shepard could get in and out with little effort. Shepard saw no reason to disagree and ordered Joker to set course for the Sol system. Knowing the trip would take them a while due to their current distance from Sol, Shepard went on her rounds of the Normandy, talking to the crew and her ground team. This had taken a few hours by itself and when she was done, Shepard had a handful of tasks to complete, each of them important to a member of her ground team. Shepard had promised them that they would take care of these issues as soon as their task was done on Luna.

Finally, she had taken stock of everything they had salvaged from Feros in terms of weapons and armor. The ground team had all obeyed her orders and grabbed what weapons they could find off of the geth. On top of that, there had been a few enemy krogan mixed in that had brought with them their own weapons and armor. This was all sitting in the hangar bay in two piles. One that needed to be seen to by Chief Williams, and the other pile was items that had already been cleaned and repaired. They would offload this salvage the next time they were on the Citadel.

Standing from her chair in the mess hall, Shepard filled two trays with food for a late lunch with Liara and headed back to her quarters. She entered the room and placed the two trays on her desk, then walked over to her bed where Liara was sound asleep. As she went to wake the asari, she noticed tear-stains on the sheets. Cursing inwardly, she struggled to come up with why Liara would have been crying. She could come up with two ideas. One, she was distraught after seeing the annihilation of a species. Or two, she was upset that Shepard had pushed her away during their meld earlier. While Liara had said she was glad Shepard had done it, perhaps she had spent time dwelling on it and looked too deep into it. Perhaps she felt like Shepard did not reciprocate her feelings anymore.

Realizing she couldn't help Liara if her first guess was right, she decided to act on her second guess and prove to Liara that she did indeed still have feelings for her. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she bent down and woke the asari with a kiss. Liara awoke with a start but quickly realized what was happening and purred softly into Shepard's lips. Shepard pulled her head back as Liara's eyes finally opened and grinned before softly speaking, "Hey Li." "Elizabeth, I believe that is how I wish to be awoken every morning for the rest of my days," Liara said as she sat up and scooted back on the bed so they could remain facing each other. Shepard smiled and brushed her hand across Liara's cheek before standing up and guiding Liara over to her desk to eat with her. "C'mon, I brought lunch. We have a while before I need to go groundside again, so dig in."

Lunch was eaten in relative silence, the two women enjoying each other's company and the time they had to just sit and relax. After they had both eaten their fill, Shepard bussed their trays back to the mess hall and returned to her seat at the desk next to Liara. After Shepard had settled into her seat, Liara leaned over and rested her head on Shepard's shoulder, humming contentedly. Confident in the fact that Liara had not been crying because she had pushed her away, Shepard relaxed into Liara, resting her head upon Liara's. The room was quiet, only the dull hum of the engine filling the silence, both occupants trying to think of something to say to the other when Joker's voice popped in overhead, "ETA to Luna base 15 minutes."

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Shepard turned her head slightly and kissed Liara upon the crest. "No rest for the wicked, I guess," Shepard said under her breath and was regarded with a look of confusion from Liara. "I would hardly consider either of us evil, Elizabeth. What makes you say that?" Chuckling at the innocence in Liara's voice and question, Shepard stood and shook her head. "Just a saying, Liara. It is not meant to be taken literally, I don't think. And I certainly wouldn't think of you as evil… you are far too adorable to be evil. Having said that, I fully expect some anger from you for what I am about to say next. I have a mission to carry out and I won't be bringing you along this time. I want you to recover more before you take on more enemies with your biotics. And before you say anything about us both overdoing it on Feros, know that I won't be using my biotics for this mission."

To Shepard's surprise, Liara was actually agreeable to sitting this one out, though not because she felt she needed the rest. "I will not argue with you about this. This time. I could use the time to sort through what you showed me earlier, as I was too drained from our meld to do so before falling asleep. I will stay on board and meditate. Go and do what you do best. I will be waiting for you to return to me." With another kiss to the asari's crest, Shepard jogged out of her quarters to get suited up, meeting the rest of the ground team in the hangar bay after putting on her gear. "Alright, there are three separate training grounds that comprise this base. I want Kaidan and Ashley taking out building one. Garrus, you team up with Wrex to take out the second compound. Tali, you are with me. Everyone, expect heavy mechanical opposition. Clear out the hostiles, blow up the computers, head back to the mako and wait for the others. If you run into something you can't handle, retreat and seal the area and wait for back-up. Any questions? No? Then pile in people, we are dropping in the mako!"

…

It was a thoroughly exhausted ground team that came back to the Normandy. Though it had only taken them two hours to clear the lunar base and destroy the VI controlling the mechs, it was two hours of intense fighting. This particular training base was used to teach tactics to N school candidates and as such, it was programmed to be incredibly difficult. Everyone except Shepard was sporting an injury of some sort. Even Wrex had managed to get himself a new scratch on his head plates. Everyone filed into the med bay and were treated for their wounds while Shepard reported in to Admiral Hackett that the base was neutralized. Lacking another lead on Saren, she decided to head to Tuntau in the Phoenix system to assist Wrex in his task of reclaiming his ancestral armor.

Plugging the location into the navicomputer and telling Joker to punch it, she decided to spend her down time with Liara. Shepard found Liara in her usual hidey hole in the med bay storage room and sat across from her on her cot. Liara had been sitting cross legged on her cot, her eyes locked on a stack of crates as she passed a small mote of biotic energy back and forth between her hands. As Shepard sat down, she let the energy fade away from existence and favored Shepard with a smile. "I am glad to see you back and in one piece. As promised, I have been meditating since you left and have come to a couple conclusions. I think you will be interested in them." First, Liara explained the visions from the beacon. She spent a couple hours burying Shepard in information regarding the protheans and their destruction by the reapers.

As Liara finally finished explaining that the beacon actually contained a warning that was cut short by the explosion, she took a deep breath and dove into the second conclusion she had come to. "When we find Benezia… when you confront her… I wish to be with you. I must see for myself what has become of her. I don't think I could live with myself if I were to not be there." Shepard nodded and agreed quicker than Liara had dared hoped. "Of course I will take you with me, as long as that is what you want. I have no idea what will happen when we confront her, Liara... if we can't talk her down…" Shepard let her voice trail off, unwilling to give words to the likely outcome of their confrontation. Liara had prepared herself for this and took a steadying breath before continuing Shepard's thought. "If we cannot talk her down, we will do what we must, Elizabeth. She will have made her choice, as I have made mine. I am with you." Shepard took one of Liara's hands into her own and gave it a comforting squeeze. "We will do everything we can, Liara. I promise."

The pair sat in companionable silence for a few minutes before Shepard squeezed Liara's hand again. "Anything else you managed to decide while I was gone?" Liara shook her head and smiled, humor evident in her voice, "You were only gone for two hours, Elizabeth. The decision to accompany you to see my mother took only a few minutes, but rifling through the visions took up most of my time. That said… I did make up my mind about something else, but that will have to wait. It is not yet time for us to speak on it." Shepard cocked up an eyebrow at the unusually cryptic asari but dipped her head in acceptance of her words. "Alright Li, I suppose I am at your mercy regarding that last bit there," Shepard finished with a weary sigh as she stood up from the cot and made for the door. "I hate to cut our time short, but I need to go write a mission report and catch some shut-eye before we reach our next destination. Wrex and I will be handling this next one on our own. You know where to find me if you need me."

…...

The next six days passed in a blur for Shepard as she ran all over the galaxy taking care of an odd assortment of requests for her friends during the days, while at night she did everything she could to evade her nightmares. While they were out and about on their excursions, they were sure to keep an eye out for anything that could be salvaged. To Shepard's surprise, they had amassed a small fortune, not just from the arms and armor they salvaged, but from the mineral deposits they had claimed and the ancient artifacts they had discovered and sent back to several very grateful collectors. While they had not yet amassed enough for everyone to get the armor Shepard felt they needed, it was a start.

Having just arrived at the Citadel, the crew was busy resupplying the ship with everything it needed to take on another trip of unknown length. Food, both dextro and levo, was brought on first. Following close behind was the shipment of medical supplies ordered by the ship's CMO. A caravan of the many other necessary supplies was making it's way across the docking area towards the Normandy as Shepard placed a call on her omnitool to the office of the asari Consort, Sha'ira. Shepard still had not had a chance to speak to the consort since melding with Liara and was hoping to be able to leave a message with the busy asari to set up a meeting. It was of great surprise to Shepard then, when Sha'ira answered the call personally and agreed to a meeting as soon as Shepard could get to the consort's chambers. Knowing how busy the consort was at any given time, she couldn't shake off the feeling that there was more going on than she knew. Shrugging her shoulders, she made her way out of the docks and went straight to meet Sha'ira.

Having visited a few times before, she was not surprised when Nelyna greeted her by name and immediately directed her to the consort's personal sanctuary. Pressing her hand to the haptic interface on the door, Shepard did not have to wait long for the door to open and Sha'ira to welcome her inside. "Shepard, I am pleased to see you again. Please, sit, I will bring you a drink and we can get started with what brings us together today." Shepard sat on the indicated couch and placed her hands on her lap, the consort continuing to speak as she poured two glasses of red wine. "I must admit, I was surprised to hear back from you so soon. I had just sent the message when you called me. I am gladdened that you can appreciate the gravity of the situation."

Sha'ira walked over to the couch and handed Shepard a glass of wine. As she took the glass, Shepard voiced her confusion to the consort. "Sha'ira, I called because of an… event that occurred when I melded with Liara, I did not receive a message before I called you." To prove her point, Shepard set her glass on the table and activated her omnitool and was met by a blinking light, indicating a new message. She grinned sheepishly and activated the message, her heart sinking as she read it. 'Benezia has been found, details to follow from the Council. Prepare young Liara. Call me if there is anything I can do to ease her burdens.' Shepard picked up and took a sip of her wine then began twirling the stem of the glass between her fingers. "Well shit, Sha'ira. How am I supposed to prepare Liara for what may well be a fatal conflict with her own mother?"

Sha'ira placed a hand on Shepard's shoulder, her touch light and supportive. "I sense a great deal of distress within you regarding this topic, Commander. Let us wait before we speak of it. We have much wine and plenty of time. Perhaps you should start by telling me what it is that brought you here in the first place, if it was not my message." Shepard nodded, thankful for the change of topic for the moment. After taking a rather large drink of her wine, she described the events of her first meld with Liara, taking great care to leave out no detail, knowing that the smallest one could prove useful to the consort. Sha'ira displayed a range of emotions on her face as Shepard told her of the meld, but it was a knowing smile that was featured when the story had come to it's conclusion.

"Tell me, Shepard. Have either of you brought this up to the other in the week since it occurred," inquired Sha'ira. Shepard had to think back before shaking her head. "Other than lightly teasing her for it to take her mind off of the visions, we have not spoken of it." Sha'ira nodded as if expecting the answer. "Before I explain the events of your meld, let me preface it by saying you have an inordinately powerful mind, Shepard. I think it is this quality that allowed you to survive interfacing with a prothean beacon. Your mind feels old, even by asari standards. It feels as if you possess the life-force of many souls within you. Any asari that touches your mind would likely have a difficult time controlling the direction of the meld. I imagine even a Justicar would balk at the idea of forcing a meld upon you."

Shepard frowned at the mention of the Justicars, knowing from her melds with Sha'ira that they were sometimes known to force a meld with someone they suspected of a crime, rifling through their memories for evidence. Such a tactic was one of the many reasons Justicars were kept in asari space only. Sha'ira continued, "That all said, Liara didn't exactly get overwhelmed with your emotion alone. Think of it this way… what emotions were you having to actively suppress during the meld?" Shepard thought back to the time in question and slowly listed of a variety of emotions, "I felt fear, afraid to hurt Liara with the visions in my mind. I felt anger, knowing I was too weak to shoulder the burden of the visions alone. I felt sorrow, knowing that this meld could possibly haunt Liara later. And I felt… love." Shepard let out the last word in a whisper, voicing for the first time what she felt for Liara.

Sha'ira nodded again before pushing forward, ignoring for the moment Shepard's reaction to her own emotions. "And what do you think Liara brought with her into the meld? She knows better than to bring fear into the first meld with someone. That could potentially make that person attribute fear to that particular asari, something nobody wants to have attributed to themselves. She did not feel anger, because it is not weakness to admit you can not bear a burden, and she did not hold you accountable for a situation beyond your control. She did not feel sorrow, because she went into the meld with only one emotion, Shepard. Tell me, what would drive someone to risk their own mental health to save that of another?"

Shepard took a drink of her wine, draining the glass, but found it difficult to swallow past the lump in her throat. She set the wine glass on the table in front of her and leaned forward in her seat, running her hands through her hair as she tried to bring herself back under control. Her heart was hammering in her chest as she came to the same conclusion the consort had. 'Liara loves me… and I love her.' Sitting back up in her seat, Shepard could feel the wine calming her nerves. "So she brought love into the meld, that doesn't explain the wave of lust though."

"Shepard," the asari chastised gently. "I do not think it was lust you felt from her. I would be willing to stake my reputation on the fact that what you felt from her was love, amplified by your own affection." Realization dawned on Shepard and nearly incited a panic attack in the veteran soldier. "Oh gods… it was love… and I pushed her away! I pushed her away and she said she was glad I did… what did I do!?" Sha'ira placed a warm hand on Shepard's chest, preventing the woman from bolting out of her seat and back to the Normandy. "Calm yourself. You are young and inexperienced, as is she. This will pass, and all will be well. Before I let you go, I would answer your question from earlier."

Shepard was bouncing her leg, eager to get back to Liara as the consort spoke soothingly into her ear. Her eyes glanced from the door back to Sha'ira before she decided to hear the asari out. After all, the damage had already been done. A while more would not make a large difference. "How do I prepare Liara for a confrontation with her mother when it may result in Benezia's death…" Shepard remembered aloud. Sha'ira smiled sadly and placed a hand on Shepard's lap, giving it a gentle squeeze. "One cannot truly be prepared for the loss of a mother, but you could offer her love found for love lost. Be there for her when all seems lost. Be a lifeline to which she can cling in her darkest hour. Offer her your life in exchange. It will not be the same, but it will lessen the hurt." Shepard thanked the consort and stood from the couch, prompting Sha'ira to do the same. Before she could go, Sha'ira grabbed her into a hug and repeated her gift of words from their earlier meeting. "Your time is fast approaching, Shepard. Soon the eyes of the galaxy will be upon you." With another word of thanks to the consort, Shepard sprinted back to the Normandy.

Sha'ira watched her go and thanked the goddess that the commander was so worked up over Liara, she did not stop to question how the consort knew the Council had learned of Benezia's location. She had many secrets, and this was one she intended to keep a while longer. Soon, there would be no secrets left in the galaxy that Shepard did not know, if Sha'ira's visions were to be believed. Sitting back down on her couch, she typed out several messages on her omnitool and sent them to Tevos. Then she placed a call to Aethyta. It was going to be an interesting one.

…

Shepard made it to the med bay of the normandy and leaned against a med bed to steady herself. She was only mildly winded from her sprint to get here, thanks to her years of training and fitness earned in combat. Once her breathing returned to normal, she straightened out her uniform and made her way into the storage room. On the outside, she was all smiles and confidence. Inside however, was a different story. Her stomach was in knots and her heart was in her throat. Logically she knew that Liara must have feelings for her. That didn't stop her from worrying that she might be moving too fast, or that something had changed in the last few days.

Liara looked up from her terminal in her "office" and smiled softly at the human who entered. "Elizabeth… it is good to see you…" Liara trailed off, casting a quizzical glance over Shepard. "You seem troubled… afraid… your aura is turbulent." Reality came crashing down on Liara as she came to the only available conclusion. "You have found my mother," she said sadly. Shepard could only nod, tears threatening to spill from her eyes as she watched Liara soak in exactly what that meant. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she sat down on Liara's cot, the asari swivelling in her chair to face her. "Liara, I… I have something to tell you before we go find her."

Liara found herself feeling very afraid. Shepard never cried, not even when injured, as far as she could remember. Whatever she had that she felt she must say must be hurting her greatly. Liara was suddenly very afraid that Shepard was going to break off their budding relationship. Before her nerve left her completely, she left her chair and kneeled on the ground in front of Shepard, staring up at the human she was so in love with. She would not… could not simply allow this to happen without a struggle. "Before you say anything, it is time I share with you my third revelation from my meditations while you were on Luna. I had told you it was not yet time to discuss it. I thought there would be more time."

Liara took both of Shepard's hands into her own and stared into emerald green eyes full of emotion. "I know we have only known each other a brief while, a speck of dust in the grand scheme of things, but I happened upon a truth in my meditations that cannot go unsaid. I meant it when I said I was with you Shepard. As I sat meditating on the future confrontation with my mother, I was overcome with fear and grief that I may have to witness the death of my own mother so soon. But a thought snuck up on me, out of the depths of my mind that brought me some semblance of comfort. I would have you. I became certain that I could bear any pain, any hardship, if you were by my side. I am in love with you, Elizabeth Shepard. And it is my hope that I am not alone in this feeling.

Shepard had held her breath as Liara started speaking, only letting it out as Liara professed her love for her. Knowing they had switched positions, a world of uncertainty sitting on Liara's chest, Shepard did not waste time in her reply. "Liara, I was in love with you the moment I saw you on Therum. I did not know it until I saw you on the ground on Feros. At that moment I was forced to acknowledge my feelings for what they were. Love. You are not alone in this Liara. Nor will you ever be alone again, as long as I can help it. As you are with me, I am with you"

Upon hearing Shepard's words, a great weight was lifted from Liara's shoulders, and radiant smile grew on her face. Shepard stood from the cot and pulled Liara up to meet her on her feet. Shepard leaned in and planted a kiss on waiting lips, her hands resting on Liara's hips. Liara ran her fingers through Shepard's hair. Ever the observant mind, she noticed how smooth it was, reveling in the soft texture as Shepard deepened the kiss, a pink tongue seeking entry beyond lilac lips. This intrusion, coupled with the sudden appearance soft fingers carefully caressing the delicate folds on the back of her neck caused Liara to moan softly into Shepard's lips. Neither wanted this moment to end, but it was Liara who eventually put a hand in the center of Shepard's chest and broke the kiss. Shepard opened her eyes first and was rewarded with the view of Liara's eyes fluttering open, ringed with black as she fought off the desire to meld.

Liara was rather breathless still, but Shepard recovered quickly. Pushing the fire she felt away, she settle her hands back on Liara's hips, a soft question passed her lips. "Was that too fast, Li?" Liara shook her head, her eyes beginning to clear to radiant blue as she regained her composure. "No… though your ah… your tongue was a bit of a surprise. And your fingers… Goddess. I do not mean to pry… but have you… done this before… ah, with another asari, I mean." Shepard smiled rather shyly, a light blush creeping up her neck and face. "I have not… though the tongue thing is not really exclusive to asari. And well, I may have had some help regarding asari physiology from the Consort regarding the sensitivity on the back of your neck."

It was Liara's turn to blush now, and she found herself wondering just how extensive this education had been. Not quite certain she wanted to know the answer to the question, she decided to keep it to herself for the time being. One thing she did want to explore further was their newly titled affection for each other. "I love you Ellie… and I cannot believe my good luck having stumbled into that prothean trap on Therum. If I had not done that, I might never have met you." Shepard screwed up her face at her new nickname. "Ellie? That sounds so… soft." Liara chuckled, giving Shepard a quick kiss. "That is because you _are _soft. To me, and me alone. And that is why only my name for you will be so soft. To everyone else, you will always be the unflappable Commander Shepard. But to me, you will be Ellie." Shepard decided that she liked that very much.

Shepard took in their surroundings, looking at the cramped quarters that Liara had made her home. It was mostly stored medical supplies. There was a desk with an extranet terminal and a cot and a single chair. Shepard suddenly felt very sorry for Liara's surroundings. "Hey Li… do you want to stay in my chambers? The bed is plenty big enough and there is more room in there and it isn't quite so… lonely." Liara hesitated to answer, torn between her desire to be closer to Shepard and her desire to maintain some independence. Knowing that she would only hate herself if she said no, she agreed to Shepard's offer. "I think I would like that very much, Elizabeth."

It took them roughly two hours to move everything Liara owned to Shepard's quarters, now their shared quarters, and get it squared away. Normally it would have only taken a half hour but Shepard had gotten official word from the Council on Benezia's whereabouts and spent much of her time coordinating the departure of the Normandy. She also had to place the orders for two more sets of colossus armor, one for Wrex and one for Tali. Eventually they had everything put away and delivered, and the Normandy was headed for Noveria.

As Noveria was only one short Relay hop away, the couple did not have the luxury of sleeping before they arrived. Instead they laid in bed and basked in each other's presence, short conversations breaking the otherwise silent experience, both of them carefully avoiding a particular conversation they both knew was coming. Shepard decided enough was enough and broached the topic they both dreaded. "Liara… you know when we get groundside, 'Ellie' has to go away for a while, right? She can't exist on the battlefield. She would never survive. When the fight is over, and we are left with picking up the pieces, Ellie may resurface, but during the heat of battle? There is only room for The Shepard."

Before Liara could reply, Joker's voice came from overhead speakers all over the ship, "ETA to Noveria fifteen minutes." Liara felt numb, powerless before the forces that were about to close in all around her. Her mother had always been a powerful biotic, even amongst the asari. Shepard on the other hand, was undoubtedly one of the most powerful human biotics in Citadel space. No matter how things played out she felt one thing was certain. By the end of the day she would be mourning a great loss. That of her lover, or that of her mother.


	5. Chapter 5

AN: Hello all! Sorry this one took so long, but I am struggling with chapter six and have been withholding this chapter until I made a decision on how to proceed with the story. That said, I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Thank you all for reading!

...

They had barely stepped foot on Noveria before The Shepard had to come out. Three guards approached and demanded that Shepard, Liara, and Wrex give up their weapons. Liara watched the transformation occur. She didn't know why she had never noticed it before, but even through her hardsuit, Liara could feel a change in Shepard's aura. While her aura was normally very chaotic and full of life and emotion, it seemingly disappeared when Shepard was confronted by the guards. It took a few seconds for Liara to realize, it had not disappeared, but had become tamed. What was once boundless, unrestrained energy was now harnessed, seemingly frozen into a placid calm. Liara likened it to death, and wondered what would happen if the controlling force snapped.

Wrapped up as she was in watching Shepard, Liara had missed a few seconds of the confrontation and found herself being the odd man out, the only one not pointing their weapon at the opposing faction. Cursing inwardly for her lack of discipline, she called up a small singularity in right hand and made a show of feeding it more power, the black orb growing in size. She was pleased to see more than one set of eyes grow wide at her display of control over biotics. The guard captain once more called for them to drop their weapons, threatening to open fire.

Surprisingly it was Wrex who spoke next, his gravelly voice heavy with disdain as he "educated" the three guards on what was going to happen. "Yer all usin' M8 Avengers, Volus made knock-off crap from Elkoss Combine. With a rate of fire of about 14 shots per second, you get about 3 good seconds of solid fire before your heatsink starts screamin' and begins burnin' through your equally trash armor. Assuming you all pick one target at a time, let's say the loudmouth krogan is the first one, all three of ya get off about a hundred twenty five shots. It'll take about forty to knock out the shields of my colossus armor and another eighty to knock out my biotic barriers. That leaves five shots to kill me, assuming they all break through my hardsuit. I'm a krogan, that means redundant sets of all major organ systems. Five rounds ain't gonna do shit. I'm carryin' the M-300 Claymore. One shot tears through your shitty shields and armor, leaving a pulpy mass behind. I get off one shot every two seconds. That means I pick you off one by one before your heatsinks cool. Three versus one, I still walk out of this alive. Yer fucked, you just haven't hit the floor yet."

Shepard watch all three of the guards visibly pale as the situation was explained to them. Cocking her eyebrow, she gave the guards one more chance to stand down. "Last chance, Matsuo. Next words out of your mouth better be 'stand down' or we see just how accurate his prediction is." The guard captain in question looked hesitant but pressed the butt of her rifle firmly against her shoulder. Just before Shepard gave the order to fire, a woman came running out of the offices yelling. "Captain Matsuo, stand down. We have verified the Spectre's identity. Spectres are permitted to carry weapons on premises."

The guards were quick to stand down, save for the young blonde on the squad, who kept her weapon pointed in Liara's general direction for a while longer before finally accepting defeat. Her eyes were filled with hatred and venom as she stared daggers at the young asari. Shepard noticed the look and considered warping the woman inside-out. Figuring it would only add difficulty to their mission, Shepard decided to let it go for the time being. The group followed the woman who had de-escalated the situation as she introduced herself as Gianna Parasini, assistant to Administrator Anoleis. Gianna confirms Matriarch Benezia is on Noveria and says the group will need to speak to Anoleis in order to arrange transportation to the compound in which Benezia currently resides.

Seeing no alternative, Shepard leads the group to Anoleis' office and has a brief discussion with the uncooperative salarian. Anoleis refuses to give the team the garage pass required to leave the docking area and explains that a rather severe storm is blocking the mountain pass at the moment anyway. Leaving Anoleis' office empty handed, Shepard is stopped by Gianna who claims that Anoleis is not the only one with a garage pass. She tells Shepard to seek out a turian in the bar by the name of Lorik Qui'in and see if he would be willing to part with his garage pass. Shepard thanks Gianna and hurries over to the Port Hanshan bar, easily locating the turian in question.

Lorik explains that Anoleis' thugs are wrecking his office because he uncovered evidence of corruption on Anoleis. Lorik offers his garage pass in exchange for the evidence. Shepard is thankful for the break in the case and heads over to an elevator that will take her group to Lorik's office. As the elevator doors open into Lorik's office, Shepard's team is met by three security officers who advise they turn around and head back down to the main port area. Shepard barked out a laugh and responded, "I get the feeling this isn't exactly a legitimate investigation. How about _you _leave, and I forget I ever saw you here. Otherwise I arrest you under Spectre authority and haul you out of here." The group of three lookouts were quick to accept the offer.

The ground team had barely taken ten steps into the office when they were surrounded by another group of guards who aren't very interested in talking. They open fire on Shepard's squad who all scramble behind scarce cover. Shepard and Liara coordinate their efforts, releasing twin Singularities, each over a clump of guards. Six guards in total are sucked up into the vortexes and ripped apart. Shepard stepped out of cover and planted her shotgun in the chest of one of the remaining guards. Pulling the trigger, Shepard spins to target another guard when she notices a red dot hovering over Liara's chest. Time slowed down for Shepard as she heard the crack of a sniper rifle firing and was forced to watch Liara spin in place from the force of the round and fall to the ground.

Shepard let out a savage scream and whirled in place to find the sniper. Once she located the turian sniper, she summoned up all of the biotic energy she could possibly harness. Standing so far away from the sniper, she realized any attack she made at such a range would likely bounce off of his shielding. Noticing the red dot hovering over Liara's head, Shepard made a last ditch effort to kill the turian. Sending all of her captured power to her legs, she went to jump at the sniper. Having never attempted anything like this before, Shepard was stunned when instead of jumping like she had planned, she charged across the room in the blink of an eye, impacting the sniper with jarring force.

Shepard was unexpectedly tired, as if she had just run a mini marathon. As she regained her focus, she noticed the inert form of the turian, some twenty feet away. His armor was cracked, and blue blood was seeping out of the cracks. Racing back over to Liara, Shepard was relieved to see her slowly standing up. "Liara, are you hurt?" Shepard asked in a soft voice, her grip on Liara's arm firm and supportive. Liara nodded, her voice sounding shaken, "Fine, Shepard. Barriers held… barely. The sniper?" Wrex was carrying the turian in question over, throwing him on the ground before Liara. "Dead. Never seen anything like it. The hell was that, Shepard? Never knew humans could move that fast."

Shepard shook her head, putting her hands on her knees as she fought to catch her breath after learning Liara was okay. In between heavy breaths she said, "I have no idea Wrex. I thought Liara was dead, or about to be. I channeled all of the dark energy I could muster and used it to leap across the room at the sniper. Next thing I knew I was slamming into him at an impossible speed." Shepard took a closer look at the turian at her feet. His armor was destroyed, cracked and dented in. The turian's carapace beneath was equally damaged, which explained the blood leaking from the armor. It looked as if the turian had been hit by an air car moving at great speeds.

Wrex seemed slightly put out, feeling lied to. "What other tricks have you been holding on to, Shepard?" Shepard chuckled softly, putting her hand on the large krogan's shoulder, giving him a hard shove. Wrex barely moved. "None Wrex. Didn't even know I had that trick up my sleeve." Liara, having recovered slightly from her near death experience, leapt to Shepard's defense. "I have heard of exceedingly rare asari individuals who were able to do something similar. It is known as a Charge, and takes decades to master, or so I have read. I have never heard of a non-asari successfully performing the maneuver. I would be careful who you share this with, Shepard. It is exceedingly dangerous. Should you use this skill without a clear line of sight to your opponent, you may end up fused with furniture or the environment. Promise me you won't use this again until you speak to someone regarding the proper use of this technique."

Shepard had no desire to be fused to something and was quick to agree. Not to mention she doubted she would be able to call upon that much power again anytime soon. "I promise, Liara. Now let's get that evidence for Lorik and get out of here. We still have a mission to accomplish." The group quickly found the evidence and made their way back to the elevator, eager to be on their way. Before they got to the elevator, it opened up and three more guards poured out into the office, led by the hotheaded blonde from the docks. The leader of the group spoke up, "Look at this, a group of cop killers. Should'a killed you on the docks, Shepard. You and that squid bitch."

Shepard recognized the slur for what it was. Used by humans of the Terra Firma party most often, "squid" was a derogatory term for asari. Shepard was about to do what she wanted to do back on the docks when Wrex, who was at the back of the group, pushed his way beyond Shepard and Liara. Wrex's voice was unusually quiet as he addressed the group. "Time to see how accurate my predictions were. I still see three of you. Your odds haven't changed any." The group of guards opened fire, all pointing their rifles at Wrex. The krogan battlemaster calmly pulled out his shotgun and fired at the guard on the left, the force of the shot lifting the human off of his feet and throwing him against the wall. As he fell down the wall, he left a smear of red behind.

Wrex waited calmly for his shotgun to cool off, his shields winking out of existence under the combined fire of the two remaining guards. Shifting his aim to the far right, he pulled the trigger of the massive weapon again, his second target leaving a similar stain on the wall behind them. Wrex put his weapon back on the dock on his hardsuit and quickly closed the distance with the remaining guard, the woman who had an unnatural hatred for Liara. The remaining guard cursed as her weapon overheated. Dropping the smoking rifle on the ground she pulled out a knife and made to charge at Liara, a hate filled scream passing her lips. As Wrex went to grab her, she ducked to the side and stabbed at the krogan's leg, hoping to slow him down. Wrex grunted at the surprise pain in his leg, and turned in time to witness Shepard cleanly disarming the woman in one well practiced move.

The woman was still screaming and cursing at Liara as Shepard took her down to the ground and stole the knife from her hands. Shepard had heard enough and threw a jab at the woman's unprotected throat, silencing her. Pressing the knife into a weak point in the hardsuit, Shepard was slowly skewering the woman with her own knife, as the woman frantically tried to stop her. The knife stopped just short of the woman's heart when Shepard heard her name being whispered. As she looked at the source of the whisper, Shepard saw a horrified look on Liara's face. Shepard snapped out of her fury and considered her actions. Realization slowly dawned on her. She was torturing this woman in front of Liara.

Shepard hissed and let go of the knife as if it had suddenly grown incredibly hot. "Liara… I am so sorry. She insulted you, wanted to kill you… and I lost control… I wanted her to know pain… I will never do that in front of you again. I swear it." As she was speaking, she had walked over to Liara and grabbed her in a hug, as if afraid she might lose her. Liara's voice threatened to break, her body rigid as she replied, "You will never do that again, whether in my presence or not. If you must kill, you will do it quickly and cleanly." Shepard nodded and Liara relaxed into her, forgiving Shepard for her actions.

Liara pulled away after a few moments and Shepard let her slip out of her grasp. Approaching the woman laying on the floor, Liara spoke, her voice now calm and determined, "And you, what have I done to have you treat me so? I have no memory of you, nor any hatred for you in my heart. Why then, do you target me?" Liara listened as the woman explained that she had been happily married until a few years ago. All of her dreams had been shattered when her husband laid his eyes on a beautiful asari dancer. Her husband left her for the asari, only to be discarded after a few months. The asari had ruined her life and then tossed away her husband, not even keeping what she had stolen. Liara listened as the woman slowly finished her story, tears streaming down the human's face. "The actions of one asari should not condemn the people as a whole. No more than the actions of your husband should condemn all men of your species. Lay your blame where it belongs." With that, Liara stood from her crouch and made for the elevator, Wrex and Shepard falling in step behind her.

Wrex spoke first, his voice low and solemn, "Shepard, I am sorry. I was toying with my enemy and allowed her to strike at your heart. Had I just shot her, you would not have been in a position to lose control and torture her. Liara, do not be cross with Shepard due to my failures. She meant only to protect you." The group stepped into the elevator and waited for it to reach the ground floor, thinking on what Wrex had said. Shepard was shocked twice today how intelligent Wrex could be. Her preconceived notion that krogan were of lesser intellect was being challenged. She planted a gauntleted hand on Wrex's shoulder. "No apology needed, Wrex. Liara has already forgiven me, I think, and no lasting damage has been done to anyone. Have you treated your leg?" Wrex shook his head, "Already halfway healed, Shepard. The wound was shallow and krogan heal fast. The only damage is to my pride and this shiny new armor you bought."

As the group stepped out of the elevator, they are met by Gianna who is quick to ask them about reports of gunfire in the office they just ransacked. Shepard explained that the guards there were bribed by Anoleis and were on the take. She also told her that they left one alive, though she would need medical attention. Gianna asked that they all meet back at the bar, _before_ speaking to Lorik. Shepard nodded and the group made their way to the bar where Gianna reintroduced herself as Internal Affairs. She explained that she was tasked with taking down Anoleis and that the evidence Shepard had recovered would seal the deal. She asked Shepard to speak to Lorik and convince him to testify.

It took some doing, but Shepard was able to secure Lorik's cooperation. Heading back to meet Gianna at Anoleis' office, she was happy to see the salarian being led away in a pair of omni-cuffs. Gianna thanked her and handed her a garage pass. "I owe you a drink, Shepard. I'll pay up next time we meet. Thanks again for the help." Gianna motioned for the guards to take Anoleis away and followed them out of the door, leaving Shepard and her team to do their business.

When they got to the garage, they noticed a modified mako waiting for them. Looking inside the vehicle, Shepard was disappointed to see only room for three, rather than the usual eight. "So much for bringing the whole team. Wrex, you able to squeeze in here?" Wrex peered inside and nodded before jumping into the back of the mako, manning the turret. Turning to Liara, Shepard placed her hands on the asari's shoulders. "Last chance, Liara. Once we get there, there will be no turning back. Are you absolutely sure you want to be there?" Liara hesitated for a moment, chewing on her bottom lip before nodding. "I will hate myself if I do not do all that I can to steer her away from this path, Shepard. Perhaps my presence will make her reconsider aligning with Saren. I am with you, Shepard." Shepard kissed Liara on the crest then helped her into the mako before sealing the compartment and running over to get into the driver's seat.

The drive to Peak Fifteen, where Benezia was holed up, took about thirty minutes. Mild geth resistance was put down quickly by Wrex on the mako's cannon. Everyone left the mako as they reached the Peak Fifteen garage. A burning husk of another mako prevented them from taking their own vehicle all of the way into the garage. Proceeding on foot they entered the facility, finding themselves in a large corridor. Stationed there was a number of geth troopers, a geth repair drone, and a geth prime. Further down the corridor, a group of three krogan guarded the door leading deeper into the complex.

Shepard's squad moved forward in a low crouch, trying to get into flanking positions on the geth units. As all three moved into position surrounding the geth, Shepard keyed her comms once to signal the team to strike. First to fall was the geth repair drone, as they had planned. The annoying little bot could repair geth platforms on the fly, prolonging any battle underway if not dealt with quickly. The geth troopers were the next to go, both going down in a hail of gunfire. The prime proved to be the biggest threat, as usual. It fired it's pulse cannon three times at Shepard, her shields and barriers stripped by the assault. Wrex jumped on the prime's back and started yanking at the exposed wires, the light on the geth's head went dim as it fell to the floor. Wrex then discharged his shotgun into the back of the geth's neck, leaving no doubt that the machine was well and truly dispatched.

The three krogan had noticed the exchange and quickly entered the battle, each one picking a different target and running them down. Wrex quickly took down the krogan that charged at him with practiced ease, having put down many of his own kind in his long years in the galaxy. With his foe down, he moved to flank the krogan charging Liara. Liara saw her attacker coming and picked up a nearby cryo tank with her biotics and flung it at the charging krogan. The tank exploded, flash freezing a quarter of the krogan's upper body. With a quick pistol shot, the krogan shattered, the remainder of the warrior slumping down to the ground in an orange pool of it's own making.

Shepard was not so lucky. With her shield and barrier down, she had to take cover as the krogan bore down on her. Once in range, the krogan grabbed her in a bear hug and started squeezing, her hardsuit creaking in protest. Shepard was having a hard time breathing, and her ribs were slowly being crushed as she thought back to her training. Pulling her hand back, she straightened out her fingers, forming a flat edge. Calling on her biotics she struck as hard as she could at the krogan's throat, causing the enraged creature to drop her as it gasped for air. Calling on her biotics once more, she fell back a few feet and took a running jump, drop kicking the krogan with as much force as she could muster.

Wrex's booming laugh could be heard from across the room as he watched the krogan fly thirty feet away, impacting on the far wall with a sickening crunch. "Shepard, has anyone ever told you that you are an artist with your physical biotics? I've never seen a krogan fly like that before, and certainly never heard one scream like that," Wrex shouted across the room as he docked his shotgun back onto his hardsuit. Liara was rather impressed too, though kept her opinions to herself. She was finding it harder and harder to talk the closer they got to her mother.

Through the overhead speakers, the team was alerted by the station VI that several systems were down. Seeing no sign of Benezia yet, they pushed onward, deeper into the complex. They came upon an open room, covered in a layer of snow that was coming down from the shattered skylight above. Their hardsuit's environmental systems would keep them from freezing, but their unprotected heads could still feel the cold sting of the air. As they fanned out to explore the room, a soft skittering noise could be heard every few seconds. It made the hair on the back of Shepard's neck stand up and Wrex muttered something about his plates itching.

Shepard was the first one to notice the insectoid creature that emerged from the grating on the floor. As she shouted a warning to her team, she tossed a warp at it only to watch as the thing exploded into a shower of green goo. The team was immediately beset by a swarm of smaller insects. The first one jumped at Liara and exploded, showering her with an acidic compound that sizzled as it impacted her hardsuit. Wrex's voice boomed over the sound of gunfire. "Rachni. Impossible. Keep them back, they use acid attacks. I'll handle this, as my people did so long ago!"

With a bellowing roar, he waded into a horde of the creatures, smashing as many as he could with his massive feet and fists. When one of the larger ones would emerge, he would blast it away with his shotgun. Shepard and Liara supported him as best as they could, tossing warps and singularities over large groups of the insects whenever they would bunch up. When the battle was over Wrex let out a final shout of victory, his red eyes wide in a blood lust. He stomped back to Shepard and Liara, his chest heaving as he struggled to overcome the fire in his veins. "Shepard… these should not be here. The rachni are supposed to only exist in stories. We need to find out what is going on, quickly."

Shepard agreed with the raging krogan and the team formed up, ready to proceed further into the complex. "That explains the turrets earlier, trying to keep the rachni contained," Shepard said as she carefully made her way through the gore splattered area towards a set of closed doors. Stepping through the doors brought them into a long hallway with doorways littering either side. Progress through the hallway was slow, every room seemed to be filled with rachni. Shepard found herself wishing she had a flamethrower, certain that such a weapon would work wonders against the insects. She made a mental note to see if she could acquire one in some form or another.

After clearing the hallway and accessing the door beyond, they were finally able to take an elevator to the VI core of the complex. Liara took a short elevator trip down into the core and made quick work of repairing it. Much to the team's annoyance, there was more repair work to be done. The reactor was down and the landlines were disconnected. Unable to proceed without seeing to these issues, Shepard resigned herself to spending more time dealing with the rachni. Wrex had no such feelings on the matter. He was living through the battles of old against his race's most hated foe. Wrex thought he might have died and gone to heaven, if not for the two people following him, stealing large pockets of his kills. When he voiced these thoughts, Shepard laughed and Liara seemed impatient.

"I have no interest in increasing my own kill count, Wrex. I would much prefer to find my mother and be done with this frigid planet." Wrex, suddenly remembering why they were here, seemed to shrink a little with his apology. "Sorry, kid. Battle rage makes it hard to think before I open my mouth." Liara nodded once in acceptance of the apology and Shepard led the team to the landlines, eager to finish with the busy work. The landlines were easy enough, plug the lines into the indicated sockets and they were done. It was made slightly more complicated by the presence of the rachni, but with Wrex on their team, the battles were largely one sided.

The reactor was a bit tougher to bring back online. On the way to the reactor they were met by the geth. Three rocket troopers, some regular troopers and a prime blocked their path. Already in the full swing of blood rage, Wrex engaged the prime head on, as only a krogan could. After blasting it in the midsection with his shotgun, he grabbed ahold of the chest plate of the hulking platform and pulled it into a massive headbutt, cracking the light and denting it's housing.

Trusting Wrex to deal with the prime, Liara and Shepard were left with the others. Of most concern were the three rocket troops in an overwatch position. They used this position to great effect, peppering the two women with rockets. Trying to buy some time, Shepard lifted one of the rocket troopers into the air with her biotics, and tossed it into the other two, bowling them over. This left Shepard and Liara with only the standard troopers to deal with for a moment. They went down quickly as warpfire ate away at their platforms. Turning back to the rocket troopers, Shepard considered throwing a grenade, but thought better of using explosives so near to the reactor. Instead she pulled out her pistol and took them down one at a time with precision shots.

Liara was impressed as always with Shepard's marksmanship and made a mental note to ask for some help later. Mostly to get some practice in with her own pistol, but a large part of her wanted to spend more time with the woman she loved. Turning their attention back to the prime that Wrex was engaging, the pair watched in a mix of fascination and shock as they turned in time to see Wrex stomping on the prime several times, the beleaguered machine struggling to rise off of the floor. With one final massive stomp, Wrex decided to take a play out of Shepard's book and channeled his biotics into his leg. The stomp brought his foot completely through the prime's chest plate, and put a hole in the grating of the deck they were all standing on.

Bringing the reactor online was a surprisingly easy process after dealing with all of the geth blocking the path. While Shepard was inputting the commands that would finalize the start up procedures, she decided to voice the question that had been nagging her since the docks. "Hey Wrex. Back at the docks. You were telling those guards how a battle between you would go down. Was that all bullshit?" Wrex grunted and chuckled, recalling his comments to the guards. "No. That was all true, Shepard." Shepard turned around from the console, having finished her task. "How did you know all that stuff, then? I went through years of training to have insight like that. No offense, but I didn't expect insight like that from a krogan."

Wrex shrugged and started leading them back to the tram ways that would be open now that the repairs to the station had been made. "No offense taken. I'm old, Shepard. Older than I have any right to be. One of the last krogan battlemasters. We krogan have a saying, 'fear the old warrior.' Simply put, it means that you should be cautious engaging an old enemy, the implication being that they must have survived many battles to reach that age. I want to live to see the krogan rise from the ashes, Shepard. So I train. And I study. And I practice my biotics like a youngling. I do whatever I think will help me see tomorrow. And if that means studying weapons and armors late into the night, then I do it." Shepard could only nod, finding herself somewhat saddened by the krogan's explanation. "For what it is worth, Wrex, when this is all over, I will do everything I can to help your people." Wrex grunted, his voice solemn, "I'll remember that, Shepard. Thanks."

The trio made it to the tram station and piled on board. The ride was quick and quiet. Wrex busied himself with inspecting his shotgun, cleaning bits of rachni off of it. Shepard went over to Liara who had settled into a chair and was sitting with her head in her hands. "Hey Li, we've got to be getting close now. How are you holding up?" Shepard sat in the chair next to Liara and put her arm around her. Liara leaned into Shepard and spoke, her voice breaking with emotion. "I am scared, Shepard. We are racing towards my mother who has allied herself with Saren and the geth. We will try to convince her to join us, but I am afraid what will happen if she refuses. I am not ready." Shepard placed several kisses on Liara's crest, doing her best to soothe the frightened maiden, cooing whispers of love and support into her ear.

As the tram slowed to a stop, Wrex left to secure the area surrounding the tram station to give the two some privacy. A few minutes later, Shepard and Liara emerged from the tram, the latter looking grim but determined. Stepping into another elevator, the group finally emerged into the science station, a group of armed survivors welcoming them to the area. Shepard was quick to gather as much information as she could from the leader of the group, a captain Ventralis. He was able to confirm that Benezia was still there, locked in the hot labs. As he handed over a keycard to said labs, rachni began pouring out of the walls into the area. The group of survivors opened fire as Shepard, Wrex and Liara assisted in putting down the invading force.

After the rachni were defeated, Shepard thanked the captain and made her way deeper into the science station, checking on the rest of the survivors and hoping to get a better understanding of what was going on. They quickly found themselves in a med bay of sorts, an overwhelmed doctor tending to too many injured to chat much. The doctor did mention a cure for some of the men in the med bay being locked in a quarantined area. The doctor assured them that there was no threat to be had in the area, and that captain Ventralis locked it down out of simple ignorance. Shepard promised to get the cure for the doctor.

Heading over to the quarantined labs, Shepard met and spoke with several other survivors in the area. An elcor trader bought all of the geth weapons they were carrying on their unused hardsuit docks and gave them a hefty sum of credits. A volus told them a horrifying tale of his own survival and a rather rude asari told them to piss off, in so many words. Shepard chalked up the asari's behavior as stress from present circumstances and let the issue go. A survivor was guarding the quarantined labs and told them they would be locked in until they could be sure there was no threat if they entered. Shepard agreed and the trio made their way into the lab.

They discovered that this wasn't a simple grab and go mission, and that they would have to synthesize the cure. Shepard had Liara get to work on it as soon as she realized it was all over her head. After a few minutes, Liara had a functional cure ready. As the team turned around the leave, the lab doors opened to admit the rude asari from earlier, along with another asari commando and two geth troopers. The asari admits to being a commando acting under Benezia's orders to kill Shepard as soon as possible. Shepard tried talking her down, but met with failure. The asari was honor bound to kill her and words would not sway her. Before Shepard could even draw her weapon, the two commandos were on top of her, Liara and Wrex taking care of the geth.

Shepard was an N7, the best of the best. She had clawed her way through N school and emerged a better soldier. Ready to kill with any weapon, including her own body. She was trained in six different forms of martial arts, including the style of the asari commandos. She was trained to fight in all environments under the sun, and had earned the right to wear the coveted N7 designation on her armor. She felt she was more than ready to grapple with two commandos. What she didn't know, what she couldn't have known, was that these commandos had two hundred years of experience on her. They each pulled out a knife made of a deep blue metal, gleaming in the light. Shepard had to admit they were beautiful weapons as she pulled out her own combat knife.

Wrex and Liara both found themselves trapped in a powerful stasis field as the geth fell, neither one of them able to move a muscle to help the commander. Liara's eyes were wide with fright as she was forced to watch the battle take place. The two asari made to circle Shepard, but Shepard was quick to back up, placing her back against a wall to prevent being surrounded. Watching her attackers for signs of intent, she sawed her knife back and forth in the air, readying herself for combat. Shepard took the initiative, feinting low with her knife towards the asari on the left, while performing a knife-handed strike at the neck of the same asari. The asari saw the blade coming at her and kicked at the wrist of the hand holding it, but could not react in time to stop the hand coming towards her neck.

Shepard's hand connected with a sickening sound from the asari, her windpipe slamming shut as she struggled to breathe. The asari on the right saw an opening and took it, stabbing at Shepard's right arm. Shepard saw the attack coming, but could do little about it. Instead of avoiding the attack entirely, which would have been impossible, she decided to minimize the damage of the attack, offering up her forearm. The blade cut through her armor like it was cloth and bit into her skin, muscle and bone, leaving a gouge in her ulna. While the knife was stuck in her bone and armor, Shepard yanked her arm to the side, ripping the weapon away from the attacking asari. Grabbing the handle with her other hand, she yanked it out of her arm and flipped it in her grip, both weapons being held in an underhand grip.

Shepard lashed out with a savage assault on the unarmed asari, slashing and stabbing in calculated frenzy. As the asari deftly blocked or dodged all of Shepard's attacks, Shepard realized she was fighting a losing battle. She would tire before she could land a fatal blow against either asari. Changing tactics, she set out to bleed the asari to death, one cut at a time. While Shepard had the advantage of a hardsuit, the asari had chosen to wear traditional commando leathers. These leathers did little to stop the blades as Shepard assaulted them. As the asari went to block another attempted stab, Shepard pulled back, settling instead to slice open the asari's hand. The asari let out a yelp of pain and pulled back, opening herself up for another attack. Shepard lunged forward and feinted with both knives, instead kicking the asari in the ankles and sweeping her legs out from under her.

As the asari fell to the ground, Shepard jumped over her, forcing all her body weight to follow the knives as the rocketed towards the asari's exposed chest. The asari saw the attack coming but could not overpower the combined weight of the attack, the knives sinking into her chest with a sickening crunch as she screamed, coughing up purple blood. Shepard was on her feet in under a second, ready for the second asari. With the death of the first, Wrex was released from stasis, which had gone unnoticed by the second asari. As she made a lunge at Shepard, she was ripped out of the air by a wave of shrapnel that cut her to ribbons as a large boom echoed through the room. Wrex docked his shotgun, still smoking, back to his hardsuit and approached Shepard, a gleam of respect in his eye.

"You continue to impress me, Shepard. You fight with the fury of a krogan, but plot like a salarian. Feints and false starts to throw off the enemy. Attack with something they see as a lesser threat. Use overwhelming force. Sacrifice a small skirmish to win a war. Your mind is slippery, but your body is hardened. I'll be watching you, Shepard." With that, the krogan left the lab, leaving Shepard and Liara alone. Liara walked to Shepard and inspected the wounded arm. The blade had dug deep. Liara was pleased to see that the hardsuit the commander was wearing had already flooded the wound with medigel. It would hold until they could treat the injury further. "You had me worried, Shepard," Liara whispered. Shepard gave her the usual cocky grin. "I'm a soldier, Liara. This type of shit is a normal day for me. I would much prefer to be the one in danger than have to watch you in the same circumstances. This is what I am trained for. Trust that I will always come back to you, sometimes a little scuffed up, but I will always come back." Shepard kissed Liara softly before backing out of her embrace and heading for the door to return the cure to the doctor.

The doctor was extremely apologetic when he heard of the ambush, assuring the commander he had nothing to do with it. In exchange for the cure, he gave her some time in a med bed, the VI controlled station quickly diagnosing her wound and delivering an anesthetizing spray followed by skin regeneration. The bonestitching would take hours and would be done back on the Normandy. At least this way she could fight without bleeding all over the place. Placing her armor back on her arm, she made her way to the hot labs with her team.

Once at the door to the hot labs, Shepard turned to Liara. "Li… your mother is right behind this door. Know that whatever is said in there… whatever is done… know that I love you. Know that I don't want to do anything that would bring you pain. I am going to do my damnedest to see your mother live through this confrontation." Liara nodded and offered a brief smile that did not reach her eyes. "I know, Shepard. If the worst comes to pass… if there is no other way… no matter how I react… know that at this moment, Shepard, I love you." Shepard placed her lips against Liara's, kissing her softly and trying to impart some measure of calm to the young asari. "You ready?" Liara shook her head and drew her pistol. "I will never be ready for this, Shepard. But we are out of time. Let us do what we must."

Shepard swiped the keycard for the hot labs into the door and took a deep breath as the door opened, revealing an asari matriarch in a regal black dress of some kind, a matching black headdress. Noticing the squad approaching, Benezia addresses them, her voice dripping with disdain. "Commander Shepard. You are too late. Saren is gone, beyond your reach. It matters not who you bring to this little meeting. Your fates will all be the same. Did you think seeing my rebellious daughter would sway me, Commander?" Shepard made a cutting motion with her hand, dismissive in her reply, "Liara is here because she feels she needs to be. I am here to sway you from your current course. There is no wisdom in this path, Matriarch. A trail of the dead follows you wherever you go. Is this truly what you wanted?"

Ignoring Shepard's words, Benezia turns to Liara. "What have you told her of me, Liara?" Liara shouted her response, her voice breaking, "What should I have told her mother? How you barely tolerated my existence, handing me off to any number of trainers or nannies while you worked on your precious career? Should I tell her how often I would go to bed alone, wishing my mother was at my side? Should I have told her how to kill you? What would you have me say, mother?" Benezia snorted derisively at Liara, sneering at her daughter. Again, Benezia ignored any words spoken to her and addressed the commander. "You do not know the privilege of being a mother… pity you never will. Have you faced an asari commando unit before? Few humans have." Benezia slung her hand forward and trapped Liara, Wrex, and Shepard in a powerful stasis field as she ordered her commandos to swarm the area.

Shepard exploded in biotic fury, her frame wreathed in blue white warpfire as she tested her own power against Benezia's stasis. Either Benezia was weak, or had only dedicated a small fraction of her power to the stasis field, expecting Shepard to fall quickly. Either way, Shepard broke free of her stasis with only a token struggle and threw both her hands forward, launching a wide warp field at the approaching squad of commandos. Liara and Wrex had noticed what Shepard had done and had broken free of their stasis fields as well at this point and lent their biotic strength to the fight, flinging warps and throws at the asari squad.

Several biotic explosions rocked the enemy squad who had not prepared for such a biotic-heavy assault by the human led squad. Two of the asari already laid dead, the other two had been stripped of their barriers, their commando leathers ripped in places where the explosions had torn at the soft material. One launched a singularity at Shepard in desperation and watched in fascination as it harmlessly licked at her barrier rather than tearing her apart. Shepard was quick to get away from the singularity, knowing it would eventually eat through her defenses and shot several rounds downrange at the asari who had launched it. The final shot tagged her in the forehead, leaving a small pucker mark where the round had entered her skull. The asari dropped noiselessly to the deck.

The last asari charged at Shepard in a desperate fury, hoping to blast her with her shotgun. Wrex was faster, and his shot lifted the asari off of her feet and flung her back, dropping her beyond the handrails and down a seemingly bottomless pit that ringed the room. Benezia, seeing her squad ripped apart nearly instantly was perturbed. She knew her daughter was of great biotic talent, but it was not her daughter that had ripped through her squad. No… it was a human. Unacceptable. She threw another trio of stasis fields, this time dedicating a significant amount of power to them, with a staggering amount of energy dedicated to the one containing Shepard. With a smug grin, she turned and ordered her remaining squad to enter, confident that this time they would be successful. They had to be successful this time. She had been under Saren's control for too long, and her biotics were beginning to atrophy from prolonged disuse. She doubted she could muster up another set of stasis fields.

Shepard, Liara, and Wrex all lit up with biotic energy, struggling to free themselves from Benezia's stasis fields. Wrex broke free first, after several seconds of struggling and appeared to be somewhat winded by the exertion. His shotgun barked as it caught the leading asari in the chest, the massive shotgun obliterating her barriers and shields. Wrex charged forward and beat her in the face with the butt of his shotgun, crushing the asari's nose and killing her instantly. Liara was the next to break free, and quickly launched a powerful throw at the three remaining asari that were closing in on Wrex, knocking them all to the ground and giving Wrex a few feet to work with. Shepard on the other hand was still quite immobilized. She continued to dump biotic energy into the stasis field, attempting to overpower the field through sheer force of will.

Unlike the asari, humans were not natural biotics. Human's only became biotics through "accidental" exposure to element zero in utero. This eezo exposure was more often than not fatal, with only about ten percent of those exposed showing some biotic talent. The rest died before they were born, or died shortly after birth due to cancer caused by the exposure. As such, human biotics were, as a rule, generally weaker than their asari counterparts. Some old L2 biotics, such as Kaidan Alenko, could spike in power to reach asari levels of biotic proficiency, but only briefly, and not with any particular regularity. L3's, such as Shepard, spiked lower than the old L2's, but suffered less from their "condition."

Shepard then, was an oddity, in that her power was nearing that of an asari. Though whether that was due to her additional exposure to element zero as teenager, or as a result of her exposure to the prothean beacon and cipher, was unclear. What was clear though, was that Shepard was outside of the norm. Liara hadn't noticed it yet, but Shepard was becoming able to reliably demonstrate control over biotics that took asari years and decades to develop. Wrex had noticed, and was beginning to uncover just how powerful Shepard could be if she would ever receive the training necessary to harness her power. Her charge in the turian's office was proof of that power.

It did not shock Wrex then, or Liara for that matter, that Shepard was still locked in stasis. After all, krogan and asari biotics were more powerful than their human counterparts. What did shock them was the inhuman yell that Shepard let out as she tapped into the last of her reserves, shattering the hold that Benezia had over her and falling to her knees for a moment to catch her breath. She quickly rolled into cover as she came under fire and sucked down the contents of one of her canteens, desperate to regain some of her energy back. Peeking over the container she was hiding behind, she saw that Wrex and Liara had things well in hand. Wrex planted his shotgun into the chest of one of the remaining asari and pulled the trigger, punching a hole clean through her.

From behind cover, Shepard began peppering the last two asari with shots from her pistol, draining their shields and barriers. Liara saw the opening and summoned a singularity over the pair of asari, turning her face to avoid seeing them torn apart by the sphere of dark energy. Sensing her approaching loss, Benezia resorted to underhanded tactics, launching a throw at her own daughter, sending her flying past the railing and into the pit ringing the room. Shepard watched in horror as Liara sailed over the handrail. Summoning her flagging reserves of biotic energy, she launched a savage pull at Liara, the asari flying through the air towards Shepard. Shepard jumped backwards and caught Liara, attempting to slow her collision, but was unable to totally prevent the impact. As they collided, Shepard heard a sickening crack, Liara's arm snapping at about mid biceps. With a scream of pain, Liara blacked out from the pain and sagged into Shepard's arms.

Shepard gently laid Liara on the ground, and turned to Benezia, currently locked in a biotic duel with Wrex. The two were fairly evenly matched in terms of raw power, but Benezia had finesse on her side. With a flick of her wrist, Benezia released a push at Wrex's feet, sending him crashing to the deck, face first. With another savage biotic push, she bounced Wrex's face off of the deck, knocking the krogan out cold. Shepard ran and tackled the matriarch off of her feet before she had a chance to finish off the old krogan, her pistol aimed at the battlemaster's back. Shepard grappled with the asari on the ground, refusing to let her regain her footing lest she prove her biotic superiority. While Benezia was easily her superior in biotic strength, Shepard was easily able to dominate her physically. Within seconds, Shepard had her blade pressed against the ancient asari's throat, the weapon drawing a small bead of blue blood with it's razor edge.

Liara had regained consciousness by then and hand slowly gotten to her feet. Seeing Shepard grappling with her mother, she ran over, cradling her broken arm in an effort to reduce the throbbing pain that was shooting through her. As she got closer, she noticed the blade at her mother's throat. Liara let out a wail of anguish and screamed for Shepard. "Shepard! Please… do not do this!" Shepard turned to focus on Liara, the young asari's face marked by twin tracks of tears. Shepard hesitated, torn between her duty and her love. Benezia took this time to regain control of her mind, addressing Shepard with a kindness in her voice that had been lacking since the conflict began.

"Shepard, you must listen. I can remain in control for a brief amount of time. Saren's will is indomitable. It is bolstered by his ship, Sovereign. The ship is wrong, it has a will of it's own. When you are near it, it overrides your will, making you act against your own interests. Indoctrination, Saren calls it. I can feel it clawing at my mind, even now. I was sent here to obtain the coordinates of the Mu Relay from the mind of the rachni queen… I was not gentle. Here, this is where Saren will be heading. I am sorry, I sent him this information as you entered." Benezia activated her omnitool and beamed the information she had uncovered on the Mu Relay over to Shepard's.

Benezia turned her head to Liara, calling her over. "Liara, my daughter. I am so sorry. I had thought to turn Saren's course, as you now attempt to correct mine. I had thought my will greater than his. I was wrong. I will pay for that with my life, as my commandos did before me. Know that I love you, Liara, more than life itself. Good night, Little Wing, I will see you again with the dawn." Shepard had been sitting on Benezia's chest during the whole exchange, her knife still held firmly against her neck. Faster than Shepard could react, Benezia turned her head and lunged her head forward, severing her carotid artery in one smooth motion. Shepard cursed as Liara screamed her mother's name. Shepard placed her hand against the asari's neck, attempting to slow the flow of blood, with her other hand she reached for a pack of medigel on her hardsuit, dumping the contents into the wound. She knew she was fighting a losing battle, but did everything she could for her beloved's mother.

It was not long before Benezia's face was ashen, her breathing slowed and she blew out her last breath, "The light… I can see the light." Liara was distraught, collapsing to the ground in a ruined heap, a wailing sob escaping her lips. Shepard's heart hurt in her chest, the woman she loved having witnessed her mother's death. She sheathed her knife and made her way over to Liara, sitting on the ground next to her, pulling the asari into her lap, whispering soothing nonsense into her ear as she rocked her. They sat like this for several minutes, Liara's body wracked with convulsions as she sobbed into Shepard's chest. Eventually, Shepard stood, pulling Liara to her feet and made to leave, Wrex having recovered and kept watch over the two. As they stood, so too did one of the asari they had previously thought dead.

Wrex called out Shepard's name in a warning growl, training his shotgun on the asari that was moving with jerky, unnatural motions. The asari addressed them, informing them that it served as a mouthpiece for the rachni queen locked in a tube behind them. The rachni queen explained what had happened to the rachni in the rachni wars was not their fault, having been taken over by a "sour note" that overrode their ability to act on their own. Shepard thought it sounded eerily similar to indoctrination. The queen offered Shepard a choice: let the queen go free, with the assurance that the rachni would go away, never to be a threat again, or to kill her, ending the rachni species for good. Despite Wrex's words of caution, Shepard could not commit genocide. She released the rachni queen.

Shepard called the Normandy and ordered a stasis pod be readied, they were bringing a body back to the ship. Wrex picked up the body of Benezia with surprising care and nodded to Shepard. Her arm still around the sobbing form of Liara, she led the team back the way they had came. As they exited the hot labs, they were confronted by captain Ventralis and his group of armed survivors. They were under orders by the late Benezia to kill Shepard. Wrex was carrying Benezia's body and Liara was in no condition to fight. Shepard let loose with the largest singularity she could summon, sucking the entire enemy squad off of the ground and grinding them into small chunks.

The rest of the trip was an uneventful and somber trek through areas they had already cleared. Liara was a wreck the entire trip back to the Normandy and Shepard was having no luck in consoling her. As they walked through Port Hanshan to the docking area, everyone watched as they passed, their eyes locked on the dead asari being carried out by Wrex. When they finally reached the Normandy, everyone headed to the med bay. Wrex placed Benezia in a stasis pod located in the storage room, Liara's old hidey hole. Liara was seen for her broken arm, though she made no indication she was aware of what was going on around her. Even when her arm was set, she made no sound of pain. Doctor Chakwas told Shepard she was going into shock, and told her she would need to be monitored throughout the night. Shepard arranged for Liara to be released into her care, so she wouldn't have to suffer through the night alone.

Shepard laid in the adjacent med bed and underwent treatment for the gouge in her arm. The treatment took several hours, but Shepard barely noticed as her mind was on Liara. Shepard could relate, having witnessed the death of her father at the hands of batarian raiders, but couldn't imagine what it was like to have the death blow delivered by someone you love, even if it was out of Shepard's control.

Having finished her bonestitching treatment, Shepard delivered her report to the Council who were sympathetic to Liara's condition, but disturbed that Shepard had released the rachni. Sparatus informed Shepard that any actions committed by the rachni were on her shoulders, reminding her of the rachni war. Shepard signed off of the call as they made their farewells, and went back to the med bay. With great care, she picked Liara up and carried her to their shared quarters. She laid the asari on the bed and began stripping her of her armor, until she was wearing only her under armor mesh. Shepard then tucked her into bed and began stripping herself of her own armor, making note to have it repaired in the morning.

Shepard crawled into bed next to Liara and held her close, whispering her love and adoration for the asari into her ear for several hours until the asari was fast asleep. Shepard set an alarm on her omnitool to wake her in an hour to check on Liara and fell asleep quickly, resting up for what was guaranteed to be a long night.


	6. Chapter 6

AN: Thank you all for reading this far into my story! I wanted to warn people about the following chapter. This one is rather dark, and ends with Shepard's memories of her rape at the hands of the raiders that attacked Mindoir. I did not explicitly detail any of it. In fact I did my best to make sure it was as clean as possible given the subject matter. I know I marked this story 'M' but I want the explicit details to be ones of life and joy.

AN2: I also wanted to point out that chapters 6 and 7 are meant to be read in one sitting. This chapter is dark and the beginning of the next chapter is the resolution to that. I would have put the resolution as part of chapter six but that would have made the chapter entirely too long.

...

Shepard woke to the sound of a quiet choked sob from Liara. Placing a hand on her shoulder, Shepard gently rolled her over onto her back, Liara moving her hand to cover her face. As Shepard whispered her name, Liara rolled over again, burying her face in Shepard's chest, a wailing cry passing her lips. Shepard was unused to dealing with such raw emotion and found herself at a loss for what to do. Settling for rubbing slow soothing circles across the asari's back, she resumed whispering sentimental nonsense into her ear. Between sobs, Liara's broken voice cried into her chest. "What am I going to do Elizabeth?"

Shepard was relieved to hear words from Liara after so long, but found herself in unfamiliar territory. Everyone dealt with loss differently. For herself, losing her father and sister to batarians had been easy to deal with. She had a target she could hate. One that she could hunt and kill. One that she had killed. Dozens of times, she had killed, seeing the same faces on every batarian she ended. Their deaths had been therapeutic. She had taken that which had been taken from her. In her limited experience, this was the only we she could deal with the loss. How she could make this work to Liara's advantage was something else entirely though. Chalking this line of thought up as a loss, Shepard moved on.

"I don't know, Liara," Shepard said softly as she hugged the asari tight against her chest. "I guess… I guess you just find what joy you can in life. There are going to be dark days, some so dark you can't imagine ever seeing the light again. This may be one of them. But you have to trust that the light is still there." Shepard thought back to her last visit to the Citadel. Sha'ira's words echoed in her mind. 'Love found for love lost. A lifeline to cling to.' "Liara… meld with me," Shepard whispered into the asari's ear.

Liara sobbed harder into her chest but Shepard could feel the intrusion of another mind in her own. Shepard opened up her mind and allow Liara access. Instantly she was overtaken by a sense of loss so profound, she found herself wanting to curl up and die. Summoning up all the willpower she normally used for blocking out pain on the battlefield, she dove deeper into the asari's mind. She dove until she found the shining light, now significantly dimmed, that was Liara's being. There she erected a great wall between them and the pain, filling this space with all of the love she could bring herself to feel for the asari. Here, in the depths of Liara's mind, Shepard built a shrine to her.

Liara was surrounded by the powerful ethereal light that was Elizabeth Shepard. A beacon in the dark, she clung to it with all she was worth. They stayed in this realm for hours, and when Liara began to tire from the exertion of maintaining the meld, Shepard tapped into her own reserves, allowing the asari to draw from her essence to sustain it. So long had they been hiding in this place of refuge, that they could no longer tell where one of them ended and the other began.

Finally, there came a time when even Shepard's endurance began to wane. Liara could sense it as easily as she could sense her own exhaustion. 'Thank you, Ellie. For showing me I am not so alone as I thought.' Shepard withdrew slowly from Liara's mind and retreated into her own. Once Shepard was gone, Liara let the meld fade away, causing a sense of loss in both of them. Shepard felt the familiar pang of loneliness after a meld faded and squeezed Liara closer instinctively.

Liara was surprised to find herself chuckling, and scooted up on the bed so that they were face to face. Shepard voiced her confusion at the sound of mirth coming from the asari. "You okay, Li? I didn't expect to hear laughter for quite a long time…" Liara smiled softly, her voice a whisper. "I will be fine, Ellie. Thanks to you. I am… I am sorry. I should not find amusement in your discomfort. The end of a meld is not something anyone enjoys, though you learn to endure it better. Your reaction reminded me of a memory. My mother acting much the same way after the end of a meld. She was comforting me when I was a child. A storm was rolling through and woke me up in the middle of the night. In fear, I ran into Benezia's room and jumped into her mind and arms. She had much the same reaction upon my withdrawal from her mind once she had successfully calmed me down."

Shepard was relieved to see Liara smiling, hoping she was on the road to recovery. She knew it would be a long one, but was growing more certain that Liara would recover. She had been fearful in the med bay that Liara might give up. It was with this in mind that Shepard spoke. "Liara… I am so sorry. I can't imagine what you must be going through. It gladdens me to see you smile again. I wish I could change how today happened. I wish I could have been faster. I wish I could have seen it coming. Mostly, I wish I could have spared you such pain."

Liara frowned as she remembered the events of the past day, and closed her eyes to center herself. She no longer felt like she was alone in the galaxy without her mother, but she was having a hard time accepting all of the things her mother would never see her accomplish. "It was not your fault, Ellie. My mother was no fool. She knew exactly what she was doing. She bided her time, waited until she could regain control. And when she felt her control slipping, she chose to go out on her own terms. I do not like it, but I can understand it. The blame for her death does not fall at your feet, Elizabeth. Her blood may stain your knife, but it is not on your soul. The blame lies with Saren and I will spill his blood for blood spilled. And you, my love, will help me do it."

Shepard smiled inwardly. 'Liara has her target,' she thought to herself. 'Now I just have to find Saren and make sure she survives an encounter with a highly trained ex-Spectre with years of combat training and powerful biotics, along with an army of geth followers.' "Alright, Li, I will help you get your revenge. Just… don't let it consume you. I have been down this road before. It can take up all of your thoughts, drive all of your actions, if you let it. Let it bring you strength, but do not let it take anything in return. Do not let it turn you into a killer," Shepard finished with a hint of knowing sadness in her voice.

Liara kissed Shepard softly before settling into the crook of her neck. "I will have you to guide me down the right path, Ellie. How could I be consumed by revenge, when I am already consumed by another passion? Now, go to sleep. We have much to do when we awaken, and I am eager to get started. And… Thank you, Ellie. For everything you have done for me tonight. I love you." "Love you too, Li," Shepard replied, her eyes already closing in exhaustion. Sleep claimed them in moments.

…

Shepard stripped herself of her armor with practiced ease, the rest of the ground squad following suit as they made their way through the hangar bay. The last three hours had been hellish for the ground squad but nobody she cared about was in need of any medical attention.

The Normandy had been in the Asgard system chasing down a lead on Cerberus when a comms tech picked up chatter coming from an asteroid near the planet of Terra Nova. The chatter told a grim tale. A group of batarians were going to throw the asteroid into the nearby planet, killing millions. Shepard had everyone suit up and pile into the mako, doing a hot drop onto the asteroid. Shepard's blood was boiling as the mako hurtled down towards the planet. Batarians. Just thinking the word sent her into a rage. It seemed that batarians were dead set on making a name for themselves as the galaxy's biggest pieces of shit. From slavery, to pirate raids, and now dropping asteroids on human colonies, the batarians were never shown in a good light.

As they made landfall, they received more comm chatter. The woman on the other end explaining that there were three massive thrusters that were being used to propel the asteroid into the planet. They would all be guarded and needed shut down within the next four hours or it would be too late to stop the impact. Shepard stomped on the gas and the mako surged towards the first of the massive torches. As they pulled closer, they noticed a station next to it, likely where the controls were housed. She brought the mako to a stop outside of the control station and everyone poured out of the back, taking up position behind Shepard as she moved to open the door.

Liara stayed one step behind Shepard, seeing cracks in her aura as Shepard struggled to rein in her seething hatred. Once the doors opened, a squad of batarians immediately opened fire on the ground team. Liara watched as the mirror smooth surface of Shepard's aura cracked and exploded outwards. She suddenly regretted wondering on Noveria what it would be like if this ever happened. Shepard attacked like a woman possessed. She was slinging biotics faster than any human had right to and her pistol was constantly on the verge of burning through her gauntlet as the heatsink screamed in it's housing.

Seven batarians were on the ground in a matter of seconds, the ground team unable to get a shot off before Shepard had single-handedly slaughtered the lot of them. Her attacks were fatal, but sloppy, and the team could see that it was not the normal calculated attack pattern that Shepard utilized. Liara suggested that the team spread out and look for the control system for the thruster and went to check on Shepard. Arriving at Shepard's side, she noticed the human's chest was heaving, whether due to exertion or emotion was not yet known. Her biotics were still flaring across her body and her pistol was still shaking in a vice like grip. Liara's voice was a concerned whisper as she spoke Shepard's name. "Elizabeth…"

After several seconds, Shepard finally docked her pistol and let her biotics fade, a ragged breath escaping her lips. Shepard nearly jumped when Liara placed a hand on her shoulder, her whole body tensing at the contact. "Liara… maybe it is for the best if you head back to the mako. I don't… I don't want you to see what I become around batarians. I thought I could control myself for a single mission, but I can't." Liara frowned. Having read about some of what happened to Shepard at the hands of batarians, she understood that Shepard had a deep seated hatred for the species. "Elizabeth, we all have flaws. Weaknesses. I will not abandon you because of something that was forced upon you. Do not push me away. Please?"

Shepard was about to reply when the roar of the thruster outside suddenly stopped, Garrus having found the control panel. Instead, she placed her hand on Liara's and gave it a brief squeeze before walking off to meet the returning ground team. "Alright, We have two more thrusters to turn off. Kaidan, stay here and keep this control station secure. I don't know if there are more of these bastards coming to reinforce the area. Lock yourself in the control room and kill anything that tries to open the door. Got it?" Kaidan nodded and ran back the way he had come, the control room door shutting behind him. "Everyone else back to the mako."

As Shepard guided the team back to the mako, a figure stepped from the shadows and fired off a round at Shepard. Her shields flared, knocking the round aside. Shepard glared at the human who had fired at her, the second time in recent memory that a frightened civilian had done so. "Shit. Sorry, thought you were batarians," the man said. "Well, we clearly aren't," Shepard replied in a biting tone. The man apologized again and gave them a run down of the situation as he knew it. He also warned them of the blasting caps he had just placed near another thruster station. "Damn it, we won't be able to maneuver the mako through mines. We will have to go in on foot. Everyone get to the mako, we will take it as far as we can. You," Shepard said, pointing at the human who had shot at her, "will find a place to hide until this is all over. You will also check your targets before you open fire." The man nodded and slid back into the shadows.

The drive to the next station had been short, the team hopping out of the mako as they neared the edge of the minefield. As soon as they were free of the vehicle, they came under fire from batarian snipers positioned beyond the mines near the entrance to the station. Everyone hid behind the mako to limit their exposure to the enemy. Shepard turned to Garrus and made a quick hand motion. Garrus nodded and pulled out his favored rifle. As he peered out over the top of the mako, a rather large projectile bounced off of the armored vehicle mere inches from his head. He tried several more times to get a position set up, but the enemy snipers were determined to keep him from firing a shot. Garrus docked his weapon back onto his hard suit and gave Shepard a shake of his head. "Can't get a shot off, commander. Too many of them, with too many angles."

Shepard nodded and looked to Tali. "Any way you can disable this minefield from back here?" Tali pulled up her omnitool and fiddled around with it for several seconds before shaking her head. "They are all encrypted, Shepard. I could turn them off one at a time if I were closer, but I doubt they would give me the time to turn each one off." Shepard nodded again, accepting Tali's answer. The young quarian was a genius with an omnitool. If she said it couldn't be done, Shepard believed her. "Alright, so we can't shoot them, and we can't get clear of the mines. The mako is at a bad angle and we can't use the cannon to take them out. Any ideas, people?" Everyone looked around, hoping to hear a plan they could use.

Finally, Liara spoke up. "Depending on how many there are, and what they are firing… it is possible that I could maintain a barrier to shield us from incoming fire for a time. I would not know how long I could maintain it until we got out of cover though… it is not a good idea, now that I say it out loud." Garrus thought about it for a bit, but was forced to shoot the idea down. "I don't think you could block these, Liara. I don't doubt your strength, but they are using Kishock harpoon guns. They launch massive spikes, I wouldn't want to trust any biotic with resisting those for longer than one or two shots.

Shepard sighed. She had come up with a plan of her own, but didn't like it. She needed more information first, and had not had time to contact someone more knowledgeable since Noveria. "Liara, I have an idea, and you are not going to like it. I think I am going to have to charge them. I think I will be moving fast enough to not get hit by the mines, and I don't think the snipers will be able to track me until I am in their midst. Take your concern out of the equation. Is it possible to charge…" Shepard peered over the mako, gauging the distance as another large projectile bounced off of the vehicle, "fifty meters?" Liara visibly paled, and was searching her mind furiously for any alternative that would not place Shepard at such risk. Finding nothing, she found herself wanting to lie to Shepard. To tell her it could not be done.

"Shepard… that is too far. You have not been trained… if you fall short you are in the middle of a minefield with snipers aiming at you with no cover." Shepard interrupted her with a wave of her hand. "Liara. Can it be done? We are running out of time, and there is no other way." Liara nodded, biting her bottom lip to stop the tears she knew were coming. After several calming breaths, she responded. "Yes, in theory, it can be done." Shepard took off her right gauntlet and offered her bare hand to Liara. Liara recognized the request for what it was and took off her own glove, laying her hand across Shepard's, and initiated a shallow meld. 'Shepard, please do not do this. I could not bear to lose you too.' Shepard sent a wave of love and confidence over the meld, seeking to lessen the worry she was feeling from Liara. 'Liara, trust me. I will always come back to you. I promise.'

Liara nodded and ended the meld, pulling her hand back and reapplying her armor as Shepard did the same. To the rest of the ground team it had appeared as if they had just touched each other's hands for a second. No one knew of the private conversation they had just had. "Alright people. I need a distraction for about two seconds. Anybody up for playing bait?" Liara raised her hand with a determined look. "I will show myself for a brief moment. I am confident my barriers will hold for that long." Shepard cursed, knowing she couldn't take a risk then ask Liara not to take one in turn. "Alright, but as soon as I am gone, you get back to cover, no matter where I end up. Understood?"

Liara looked about ready to argue but thought better of it, instead she settled for nodding her head. Shepard nodded in return and held up three fingers. Counting down, she walked out of cover as her last finger went down, searching for a target. As she walked out, Liara bolted to the other end of the mako and ran out from behind it, looking to the snipers as if she was going to make a run for it. As Shepard's body began to radiate the familiar blue-white glow of biotics, the first round impacted Liara's barriers. Even with her barrier stopping the shot, it still impacted against her chestplate with jarring force, knocking the wind from her lungs. Shepard found her target, a batarian in the center of the group that had just fired his rifle. It would allow her to arrive in the middle of the group and knock them all out with shotgun fire.

Shepard repeated the process from Noveria and found herself hurtling across the mindfield in the blink of an eye, nailing her target in the chest with a lowered shoulder. This time she was more prepared for the impact, and the ensuing exhaustion. Pulling her shotgun out, she began pulling the trigger as fast as the heat sink would cool, blasting batarian after batarian in the gut. As Shepard warped across the battlefield, Liara was quick to retreat back to the mako. Before she was back behind cover, another shot nailed her in her shoulder, knocking her to the ground, though her barriers still held. She scrambled to cover and nursed her aching shoulder while the rest of the ground team watched Shepard in awe. Shepard was a blue-white blur in the distance, muzzle flash and biotic attacks lighting up her position in the dark cover of shade.

For Shepard, the battle was over in a matter of seconds. Her shotgun was back on it's dock and her biotics were fading from her hands as the last batarian fell to the ground, screaming as the burning shrapnel tore through his intestines. Shepard took great pleasure in his screams of pain. In fact, she had taken great pleasure in making sure each of her shots were to the gut. Four batarian snipers were writhing on the ground, cradling their stomachs as blood poured from their wounds. She allowed them to continue breathing as long as they could while she looked for the master control for the mines. Finding it, she pressed the button and signalled the team to move to her position.

The group arrived to the chorus of wounded and dying batarians. Liara looked angry as she pulled out her pistol and shot each of them in the head, ending their suffering. She would talk to Shepard back on the ship, away from the rest of the ground team. She had to know what would cause Shepard to torture four people after promising not to do so. Liara docked her pistol and smoothed the frown from her face. Shepard motioned for the squad to form up and opened the door to the second compound. As they entered into the main room of the building, they heard faint growling somewhere in the distance. Wrex whispered next to Shepard. "Varren. Sounds like six or seven of them. Shouldn't be a problem if they are alone. Want me to scout ahead?"

Shepard had to fight to stifle a laugh, a grin breaking out across her face. "Krogan don't scout, Wrex. You just want to kill shit." Wrex chuckled softly. "You wound me, Shepard." Shepard motioned for the team to move up and carefully led them forward into the main room, towards the control room. They had made it about half way into the room when the varren attacked. Two singularities snapped into existence in the middle of the pack, tearing them apart at a molecular level. The room was silent after the pack of fish-dogs was dispatched. The squad made it's way to the control room and turned the second thruster off, leaving only one remaining.

"Ashley, same as Kaidan. I want you here in case enemy reinforcements come. Lock yourself in this room, shoot anything that opens that door unless I give the all clear." Ashley nodded her head and made busy stacking some nearby supply crates into a defensible position in the control room. Shepard turned and left her to her work, confident that she would have the room set up into a proper fortress by the time she returned. "Everyone else, to the mako. We have one more torch to deal with and we are running low on time."

The group made the quick run back to the mako across the deactivated minefield and piled into the mako, making sure to grab the weapons from the fallen snipers. Once everyone was safely within the mako, Shepard punched it, racing towards the third and final thruster. Outside of the third control building, they were assaulted by rocket turrets. The stationary weapons were barely a threat to the mako, the 155 mm cannon making short work of them, while the shields managed to deflect the one rocket that made it close to the vehicle. Shepard had to admire Wrex's ability to use the mako's cannon while the vehicle was rocketing and jumping across the battlefield.

Jumping out of the mako as it was still grinding to a halt, Shepard jogged to the door of the compound, pulling her pistol from it's dock and preparing to open the door. The squad was quick to join her and they entered in unison into an antechamber. Clearing her corners, Shepard advanced through the small room and made her way to the second doorway, waiting for the rest of the group before keying open the doors. Shepard saw a group of three batarians talking in a corner and docked her pistol, pulling out one of the pilfered Kishock rifles. Setting her sights on one of the ugly four-eyed creeps, she pulled the trigger.

Shepard was pleased to see the spike nail a batarian to the wall through his shoulder, a ragged wail of pain escaping the beasts lips. The other two crouched low, looking for the source of the shot when another spike launched across the room, ripping another batarian from his feet and pegging him to the wall, the glowing rod centered through his neck. The third batarian was pulling his own rifle from his back when he felt white hot heat searing through his guts and impacted the wall behind him. He looked down in shock, a large dart piercing his stomach and connecting him solidly to the wall behind him. The shots had only taken three seconds, but to Shepard it had taken minutes. Every shot triggering flashbacks to Mindoir and strengthening her desire to see these freaks suffer.

Liara on the other hand was torn between feeling livid and concerned. She knew Shepard possessed the skill to handle the rifle properly. She knew she could have made clean kills at this distance with her pistol, but actively chose to inflict pain and suffering. Something was wrong with Shepard, but to willfully inflict pain like this was beyond her understanding. Liara was starting to understand why Shepard wanted her to return to the mako at the first station. 'She didn't want me to see her torture batarians,' Liara realized rather late. She felt like she should say something, perhaps try to sway Shepard from her current actions, but decided against it. The rest of the squad did not need to be present for this argument.

Shepard abandoned her stealthy approach, largely due to the noise being generated by the skewered batarians on the far side of the room. She docked the rifle on her back and pulled out her favored pistol, entering the room with quick, careful steps. Two more batarians had emerged from the control room in the back and fired at Shepard, the rounds bouncing off of her shields. Shepard flung a weak warp field at the pair. The batarians lit up in blue-white warpfire and screamed as it ate away slowly at their flesh. Shepard watched the pair of monsters dance in pain, trying to extinguish her biotic fire for a few minutes before they finally fell over dead.

Shepard turned to her squad to order them to secure the control room, and found them all staring at her with mixed emotions. Tali was holding her stomach, the young quarian sickened by Shepard's barbarism, her face hidden behind her purple mask. Garrus had a calming hand on Tali's shoulder, his face set in a grim mask. Wrex seemed to approve of the carnage, though made no mention of it. Lastly, Shepard's eyes fell on Liara, and her heart sank. Liara was fuming, tears rolling down her face as she struggled to find the woman she loved in the person standing before her. She was still there, Liara was confident of that, but she was somewhere deep in the ball of hatred that was Shepard.

Shepard snapped out of her rage fueled rampage and stepped towards Liara, who held up a hand and shook her head. "We will talk about this later, Shepard. There is no time for this now." Shepard nodded sharply and turned on her heel, making her way to the control room to shut the torch off herself. Shepard disappeared for a few moments in the control room before stepping back out, the thruster outside going silent. The three batarians pinned to the wall were still clinging to life, and Liara was about to pull out her weapon to end their suffering when a group of fifteen more of them came walking in the front door.

The leader of the group stared at the carnage in the room, all four of his eyes widened as he saw the three pinned to the wall, still groaning in agony. The leader called out into the room. "We know you are in here humans, this does not need to end in bloodshed. Come out and we may speak." Shepard peered around a stack of crates and saw the enemy forces spread out before her. Shepard snarled and turned back to her own group, battling down a feeling of revulsion she felt every time she caught a glimpse of this particular race of scum. "Garrus. He wants to talk, let him talk. Get up on top of these crates and cover me. I'll go out there. Alone. I will leave my comms open. He makes an excuse for his actions, I want a round in his mouth before it closes. The rest of you, if you hear gunfire, come out hot. I want them on the floor before they can even think about a defense."

Shepard turned to Liara, a sad look on her face. "I will explain everything to you on the ship, I promise. Just… do not judge me until you see them through my eyes. Please." With that, Shepard turned and marched out from behind a wall of crates, pistol in hand as she approached the batarian squad. As Shepard stepped into the light, the lead batarian spat out her name as if it were a curse. "Shepard. Explains why Balak's plan has gone to shit. I am Charn, second in command of the batarian forces on this asteroid. I know of you, Shepard. I am under orders to bring you to Balak alive, if at all possible. No doubt the Hegemony would give him a command placement if he delivered you alive to answer for your crimes. Before you speak, know that I will not follow these orders. This was supposed to be a simple slave grab, not an act of war. I want no part in this plan of Balak's."

Shepard's free hand was balled into a fist, and she was struggling to suppress the urge to light it up with biotic power. After a brief pause, she spoke, her voice was filled with malice. "Charn, you and your forces will drop your weapons on the floor and surrender. You will be taken into custody and tried for crimes against the Systems Alliance. You will give me all information regarding Balak's remaining forces. You will cooperate, or I will summarily execute you all for attempted slavery. You have ten seconds to decide. Your time starts now."

Charn laughed dismissively, tilting his head to the right. "Slavery is no crime, human. It is the life-blood of my species. It is the duty of the strong to take what they want from the weak. I will not surrender myself or my men to be tried under your discriminatory laws against my people. I will also not give you any information on Balak's forces without a promise of safety for me and my men. I recommend you think hard about your response human, unless I change my mind about taking you alive. To be my personal servant. I see one of you, and fifteen of us."

Shepard made a show of holding up three fingers, dropping one with each passing second. When she reached zero she raised her pistol and started to unload on Charn, the Spectre's weapon quickly overloading his shields and planting a round in the center of his face, between all four eyes. Another batarian's head exploded as Garrus opened fire with his rifle, the turian sniper as accurate as ever. The remaining batarians raised their weapons to fire at Shepard but were thwarted by their weapons suddenly overheating.

Behind cover, Tali had been silently working on her omnitool. The second Shepard opened fire she activated a routine she had been working on, sending an overheat signal to all of the batarian weapons. By the time they were able to react, it would be too late, their weapons would be useless.

The batarians were struggling to come up with a plan, their leader dead and their firearms useless. One got the bright idea to pull out a wicked looking barbed dagger. Several other batarians followed suit and soon Shepard found herself on the defensive, bobbing and weaving between the encroaching batarians in an effort to avoid being impaled by one of the barbaric looking instruments.

Garrus was in his element. A target rich environment with nobody returning fire. He picked off the batarians that were closest to Shepard one at a time as the ground team moved in to assist her. The battle quickly shifted to Shepard's favor, as sometime in her retreat she had found time to pick up one of the fallen batarian knives. She was now using it against the distracted batarians, burying the blade to the hilt and yanking it out, blood flowing rapidly from the ragged wounds. Wrex's massive shotgun was booming intermittently as he waded into the fray. Liara set to work picking off the batarians that were left to bleed to death by Shepard's newest act of ferocity. Liara made sure to end the suffering of the three still pinned to the wall as well.

As the last batarian fell, a massive hole in the back of his head from Garrus' well placed shot, Shepard set to work searching the fallen for clues as to the strength of the enemy left under Balak's command. Coming to Charn's corpse, she searched through his omnitool for any recent messages. She was lucky to find an access code to a fourth compound, this one far larger than the other three, where nearly thirty batarians were holed up. She was not pleased to find out that they enemy had littered the area with explosives and had a group of hostages. Shepard would need to be careful. No batarian could escape alive, and no hostage would be taken with them if she could help it. Better to be dead than a batarian slave.

Having found what she needed, she made her way back to the mako, the rest of the squad following her lead, each loaded with batarian weapons that they threw into the cargo hold of the mako. Shepard oriented the mako to face the final complex and the vehicle surged forward on it's six massive tires. The trip to their destination was silent, the passengers all staring at each other with concern written on their faces. They could all tell Shepard was suffering the longer they were on this asteroid. Wrex was the only one who wasn't engaged with the others, as he was trying to sleep on the way to the next battle. He seemed to be aware of their concerns however as he opened one eye and spoke.

"You are all making my plates itch. Either voice your concerns and face the consequences or let them go. Staring at each other is going to do nothing but agitate me. If you don't have the stomach for this, stay in the mako. Far as I'm concerned, slavers deserve what they get. You all wanted to follow her when the work was pretty. We get a little bloody and you have reservations? After all she has done for each of you? Maybe you should all take a long look at where your loyalties lie and decide if this trip is right for you. As for me, you'll find me at Shepard's side. She has earned that much."

Shepard pretended she had not heard the hushed whispers in the back of the mako over the roar of the engines. She couldn't help but wonder if Liara was one of the ones questioning if they wanted to stick around. The thought hurt her heart more than she cared to think about. Steeling her resolve, she pushed the mako faster towards the final bastion of enemy forces. She would have to show Liara everything if she wanted to keep her. Shepard couldn't decide if that scared her more than losing Liara.

They finally reached their destination and Shepard was once again first out of the mako. Wrex was hot on her heels. Shepard was relieved to see Liara step out of the mako. 'At least she trusts me this far,' Shepard thought. Next came Garrus. After a few moments, Tali hesitantly stepped out of the mako. Shepard nodded her head, thankful to see everyone was still with her. "Right, so this is the last stop. Tali, they have set up bombs here to wipe out civilians. You are going to disarm them. Stay low, keep out of the firefights and stick to the shadows. Once we clear a room, you search it for explosives and clear them out. Garrus, you stay on overwatch, somewhere near the door if at all possible. I don't want a single batarian escaping. We end this here. Liara, Wrex, you are with me. We go in fast and hard. Let's go, people."

The team stormed to the entrance of the building, the door opening to allow them inside. As instructed, Tali stayed back, waiting for the room to be cleared. Stepping into the antechamber, they were met with silence, all of the batarian forces deeper in the building. Shepard gave the all clear to Tali and the quarian moved into the antechamber with them, her omnitool sweeping the room for explosives. Shepard made her way to the only other door in the room and braced her shoulder on the wall to the right of the door. She palmed open the door with her omnitool, using the access code from Charn. The door swept open to reveal a massive hall, a pair of rooms dotting the wall to the right. All the way at the end of the hall, she could see a batarian ordering troops to defensive positions.

Shepard slipped into the room, staying low in an effort to stay hidden as long as possible. The rest of the team followed her in, save Tali, low and quiet. Garrus saw a perch to the left and began climbing, settling in on his stomach as he sighted downrange. Shepard led her group to the right, intent on clearing the rooms that dotted that side of the hall. The first one proved to be empty save for a single batarian guarding a bomb. Shepard unsheathed her knife and crept up behind him, the rest of the squad hanging back. Shepard grabbed the batarian, covering his mouth and slit his throat, taking great pleasure in the pained gurgling she heard. She let his body drop, the batarian clutching his throat in an effort to stop the bleeding. He opened his mouth to scream for help, but his breath rushed from the hole in his throat.

When the batarian finally died, the ground covered in a pool of red blood, she keyed her mic, letting Tali know she could move up. Tali showed up moments later and began working on the bomb. Shepard left the room, turning to the right to search the other room. The second room appeared to be a library of sorts, several bombs decorated the wall. Luckily, there were no batarians to be found. At the end of the room, there was a ramp down to the lower level. Shepard motioned the squad forward, and they followed the ramp down. Three batarians occupied the lower room, all facing each other discussing something of little importance to Shepard. Shepard motioned Liara forward. As she arrived at Shepard's side, Shepard spoke in a quiet voice. "Can you trap all three in a stasis? It is not something I think I can do."

Liara nodded. "Should be easier to maintain than that prime on Feros. I can handle it Shepard. Make it quick though." Shepard nodded back and motioned for her to continue. Liara's body glowed blue as she flung a stasis field at the trio, catching them all off guard. Shepard leapt from the ramp and slashed across the first batarian's throat, the other two batarian's eyes bulged in fear as they saw Shepard materialize from the shadows. Shepard slit the other two across the throat with surgical precision and the three fell to the ground as Liara let the stasis field fall.

Shepard keyed her comms again, signalling Tali to move up when she was ready. Out of rooms to search, Shepard knew it was time to light up the rest of the batarian forces. As she stepped out of the lower floor of the library area, she found some cover and motioned for the asari and krogan to follow her. Shepard pulled out her stolen Kishock rifle and sighted down the scope. She counted twenty-four batarians spread out in defensive positions before her. Settling into a more comfortable position, she pressed the butt of the rifle to her shoulder and breathed out, gently squeezing the trigger. She was pleased to see the batarian in her scope tumble to the ground, a massive spike protruding from his head right above the ear.

As soon as Shepard had pulled the trigger, Garrus had done the same, targeting a batarian wielding a Kishock rifle. Taking that one out, he turned, looking for the other sniper he had seen. He found the batarian had moved a bit, looking through his own scope, searching for Shepard's position. Garrus put another round downrange, another batarian falling to the floor. Shepard and Garrus took out half of the batarian forces before they found Shepard's position, forcing her to give up her rifle. Pulling out her pistol, she focused on her biotics and launched a warp across the battlefield, catching a batarian with it and burning through his armor.

Liara was pleased to see that Shepard was going for kills this time, her usual precision back in place as she engaged the slavers. Shepard motioned for her team to move up, having run out of targets from her angle. Wrex led the way towards the remaining enemies, his shotgun barking as he poured shrapnel over the enemy positions, keeping them suppressed. Garrus had run out of visible targets and settled in to wait as Shepard asked, keeping anyone from escaping.

As the last batarian fell, Balak stepped into the open, a detonator in his hand. Shepard pointed her pistol at his head and was followed by her team training their weapons on the leader of the now dead batarian forces. Balak spoke, his guttural speech wearing on Shepard's nerves the moment he began speaking. "Fucking humans. Almost not worth the trouble. Almost. Here's the deal, bitch. I leave here alive, or I blow up the hostages. I live, the hostages are yours." Shepard didn't even bother with a response. She dropped her pistol from her hand and grabbed her knife before she charged across the open space in a blue blur. Her knife sunk through the batarians wrist, severing his hand as her charge sent him hurtling through the air to crash into the far wall.

Shepard slowly walked up to the dazed batarian as he started to stir, trying to sit up. He spit out a mouthful of blood between razor sharp needle like teeth. "You spiteful bitch. What's the problem, been too long since you got a good fuck? Ask me nice and I might scratch your itch. Been a while since I had a human fuck doll." Before he could spit out another sentence, Shepard kicked him in the mouth, her armored boot cracking several of his thin teeth. The batarian fell to the ground in a heap, choking on his own teeth as Shepard raised her foot, stomping on his head. Shepard stomped on his head over and over, her face a mask of fury.

Liara put a hand on Shepard's arm, causing the human to stop her frenzied assault. The batarian was somehow still alive, his face a deformed mass of swollen and broken tissue. Shepard turned and faced Liara, her emotions close to the breaking point. Liara placed a soothing hand on Shepard's face, stroking her cheek lovingly. Shepard turned to Wrex. "Pick him up. I want him alive. We take him back to the Citadel where the Alliance can pick him up and try him for his crimes." Shepard walked over to retrieve her pistol, crushing the detonator the batarian had held as she walked by it. Shepard keyed her comms and gave the all clear, Garrus jumping down from his post to meet up with her.

Tali had finished clearing out the explosives and was on her way to meet Shepard when she saw a door open, and a group of survivors come walking out. She quickly alerted Shepard and went to work, checking them for wounds. Shepard arrived a moment later and began talking with the woman in charge. It looked like everyone was accounted for aside from a few technicians. After making sure everyone was alright, and that nothing more was needed from her, she left the compound, heading for the mako.

Everyone was quick to join her and she made the quick trip back to the first two compounds to pick up Ashley and Kaidan. The colony on Terra Nova was secure, and Shepard had killed most everyone responsible for the attack. There only remained one loose end, and he would be off of Shepard's hands as soon as they could make it to the Citadel.

As everyone poured out of the mako back in the hangar bay, they peeled off their armor, save for Wrex, who was carrying a beaten and broken Balak to the brig. Shepard dismissed everyone and made her way to the showers. Once inside, she locked the door and collapsed on the floor under the sonic scrubbers crying. She cried for what felt like ages, her fears of losing Liara due to her actions on the asteroid consuming her whole.

Liara stood on the other side of the door, listening as Shepard broke down. Her heart ached for the human, but she was still disturbed by what she had seen down on the asteroid. She resolved to get to the bottom of what was going on tonight, whether Shepard wanted to discuss it or not. Liara made her way back to their shared quarters and changed into some sleepwear while she had the room to herself.

It took a while, but finally Shepard appeared in the room, her eyes red from crying. Liara waited, sitting on the bed until Shepard approached, sitting on her side of the bed and curling up into a ball, burying her face in her knees. She was exhausted, but knew that Liara was not going to sleep until she understood what had happened on the asteroid. "Liara, what I am about to share with you, I have never told anyone. Not even the navy shrinks with the Alliance. Not even my own mother. Meld with me, and I will show you what really happened on Mindoir."

Liara hesitantly scooted across the bed, wrapping a protective arm around Shepard and pulling her into her chest. Instead of rushing into the meld, she stroked Shepard's face gently, trying to ease the human's troubled emotions. After a few minutes of loving attention, Shepard uncurled slowly, wrapping her arms around Liara's middle, her grip nearly crushing the asari. Eventually she relaxed a little more, her grip loosening a bit around Liara. Liara finally felt out with her mind, latching on to Shepard's and diving into a shallow meld. Shepard started off with showing images of her life on Mindoir, her little sister and her father growing up on the frontier world. The images showed a wonderful life, in a happy home as she grew through the years.

The images slowly changed, the sky growing dark with the shadow of a ship passing overhead. People were screaming, running to their homes. Shepard's father hid his two daughters under the sink in a cabinet. Batarians came bursting through the door, her father being held at gunpoint. The batarians were barking in their guttural tongue. As they struck her father, her younger sibling let out a soft sob. The batarians had heard it, sweeping the room they eventually found the pair.

The images became darker, more evil as Shepard's mind replayed events in a level of detail that deeply troubled Liara. Suddenly her sister and father had knives to their throats. The batarians used Shepard as a plaything, passing her around. Once each batarian had their turn, Shepard was dropped to the floor, a sobbing mess as she curled up in the fetal position. She watched in horror as the batarians slit her father's throat after forcing him to watch what they did to his oldest daughter. Shepard had let out a mournful wail, her younger sister suffering the same fate as her father.

Shepard was filled with a terrible rage as she watched her family die, her latent biotic power sparking to life as her emotions surged through her body. With a great rush of power, the batarians were thrown across the house, their broken bodies sliding to a halt on the ground. Shepard picked up a pistol left abandoned on the floor and walked out of her house, the pistol spitting out round after round as she killed the retreating batarians. The batarians mounted a sloppy defense, turning to slay the younger Shepard. Her biotics were running rampant, her body arcing against the ground in blue bolts. Five batarians had formed up to kill her, and five bodies hit the ground, twisted and deformed by raw biotic power. Shepard saw no more of the monsters and sat on the ground.

It was hours later that the Alliance navy showed up. The first ship to arrive was the SSV Einstein, the ship her mother served on. The navy doctors had treated her wounds and fitted her with an implant to control her biotics. The doctors listed off a number of injuries to her, laceration this, bruising that. Shepard could barely hear them speaking, withdrawn into her own mind as she was, where it was safe. The doctors asked for permission to inform her mother. Shepard refused, and the doctors were bound by law to keep quiet when questioned by the woman.

Very slowly, Liara withdrew from Shepard's mind only to find herself quietly crying. Her heart felt like it was being crushed within her chest and she could barely breathe. Shepard was softly shaking, and Liara hugged her closer, crushing her to her chest. She slowly pulled the covers over Shepard and did her best to soothe her. After what seemed like hours, Shepard drifted off to sleep, completely exhausted, both physically and emotionally. Shepard didn't wake when Liara slipped out of bed and left the room. In the morning, she would discover that Balak was more wounded than he had appeared on the asteroid. He had not survived the night.


	7. Chapter 7

AN: Here is chapter 7! Please note that there is a bit of sex in this chapter. I didn't plan on it being here when I set out to write this chapter, but it just sort of happened. It is rather short and paced rather quickly, but then again, I warned you that would happen until we reach ME2. I hope you all enjoy!

...

Shepard woke with a start, but was quickly calmed by the blue beauty sharing the bed with her. Liara had been awake for about half an hour, trying to solve the puzzle that was Elizabeth Shepard as she watched the woman sleep. She had felt she was closer after learning what she did the day before. She existed as two separate people. Elizabeth, the kind caring soul that had suffered so greatly that her mind had created a shield. And The Shepard, the shielding persona that Shepard adopted during times of stress and hardship. A personality that could survive any obstacle, simply because Elizabeth could not. What Liara could not get to mesh with these two personalities was the torture of living creatures. Was that the actions of the scared Elizabeth, or a protective measure of The Shepard. And what of the blonde officer on Noveria? She had been no threat to Elizabeth. 'But she was a threat to me,' Liara realized. Had The Shepard accepted a new charge then? Protect Liara as she protected Elizabeth?

It was this line of thought that was interrupted as Shepard jolted awake, Liara's soothing hand reached out to touch Shepard's troubled face, resting on her cheek. Liara eased away the edge of the nightmare that had been troubling Shepard's sleep and was happy to see the woman relax into her touch. "At the risk of sounding stupid, I must ask… how are you feeling, Elizabeth?" Shepard turned her face to kiss the palm of Liara's hand before turning to face the asari. "You never sound stupid, Li. You are the most intelligent, caring, beautiful person I know." Liara blushed a soft purple but managed to hold Shepard's strong gaze. "Flattery will get you everywhere, Ellie, but that does not answer my question."

"No, I suppose it doesn't," Shepard said with a sigh. "But how am I supposed to answer the question, Li? After seeing what I showed you, after seeing me dealing with batarians yesterday, do you think I can _ever_ be okay? Do you think I can ever be normal again?" Liara felt the vice around her heart tighten. Shepard sounded so defeated. "I think you can be, Elizabeth. I think you will be, but you will have to do something first that I am not sure you will believe you are capable of. I could sense the blame you felt that day through the meld. The errant thoughts that passed through your mind. 'What if my biotics had manifested faster? What if I had stolen a pistol from one of the batarians sooner?' These thoughts eat away at you in the dead of night when nothing else weighs on your mind. And the worst one of all, the one that breaks my heart to know you even consider. The thought that if you had perhaps _performed_ better for the batarians, they might have let your family live."

Liara paused, tears streaming down her face as she took a deep breath to calm herself. After a few moments, she continued, though it was a struggle to keep her voice from breaking. "You were a victim of terrible crimes, Elizabeth, but that does not define you. _Should _not define you. You were a loving person, who had their innocence stripped from you in the most horrible way imaginable. There is only one thing that was caused by your actions that day, Ellie. You _lived_. You lived because of everything you did. Everything you had to do. You are stronger than anyone I know Elizabeth, and I know that if you set your mind to it, you can do anything you set out to achieve. So I am begging you now. Release yourself from these demons that eat away at your soul. Forgive yourself for that which was forced upon you. Do this, and I believe that one day you will be 'normal' again."

Shepard had been chewing on her bottom lip since Liara had began breaking down walls she had spent a decade building, hoping the pain would distract her from a greater hurt. As Liara gave voice to her deepest regrets, the dam was breaking, and Shepard quietly cried. And when Liara finally stopped speaking, she gave up the fight for the first time in her life and let herself feel. Shepard wailed into Liara's chest, great heaving breaths feeding further cries of anguish. Shepard cried for the loss of her father and for the little sister she barely got to know. Shepard cried until she ran out of tears to give, but still she cried. After a while, she finally regained some measure of composure and managed to rein in her unruly emotions.

Liara was supportive through the entire ordeal, whispering sympathetically into Shepard's ear and rubbing her back gently as she grieved for the first time in her life. Liara was not surprised by the depth of Shepard's grief, having sensed it in her meld the night before. Liara knew that this was only the first of many such sessions required to recover from her ordeal, but she was determined to see Shepard through to the other side.

Shepard sat up and wiped the tears from her face, her eyes red from crying. When she saw Liara's shirt, she couldn't help but laugh, the fabric soaked through with her tears. "Sorry about your shirt…" Liara looked down and laughed softly, stroking Shepard's face with her thumb. "It is not my shirt I am concerned about, Ellie. I am concerned only for you." Shepard nodded solemnly, casting her eyes downward. "I know. Thank you, Liara. For seeing me through the facade. For helping me do what I would never have done without you by my side. I think… I think you are right, it is time I let go. I don't think I am there yet… but today was a large step in the right direction."

Liara leaned over and kissed Shepard deeply, Shepard returning the affection with great interest. Shepard's recent emotional outburst had left her feeling raw, and Liara's tongue was like a balm to her soul. They kissed until they both had to surface for air, their breathing labored by their passions. "I am going to get us breakfast, Li. If I stay here, we won't leave this room for hours, if I have anything to say about it." Liara nodded, deeply blushing, and wishing not for the first time that she had the courage to share with Shepard that she would not mind them vanishing from the world for a few hours. Now was not the time, however. Shepard was still raw from this morning's exertions, and Liara would not take advantage of her like that.

Shepard was gone for quite a while, far longer than it took to get breakfast from the adjacent mess hall and Liara was beginning to wonder where she had gone off to when Shepard finally appeared, carrying two trays laden with eezo-enhanced food. "Sorry, Li. The council called. They have a lead on Saren. We are headed to Virmire. I had to coordinate a few things. We are likely to be in combat soon, so I loaded us up for breakfast. We will likely need the fuel." Shepard set the trays on her desk as Liara stood from the bed and joined her at their makeshift table.

The pair sat down to eat, discussing items of little importance as they shoveled food into their mouths. They took their time eating, as there was no rush. They had three relay jumps to travel through. When they finally finished, Shepard took their trays back to the mess hall and returned to their room and sat in her chair next to Liara. After a brief silence, Shepard brought up the topic that had been on her mind since she learned Saren may be on Virmire. "Liara, there is a chance that Saren will be on Virmire when we land." Liara tensed in her chair, but quickly relaxed, placing her hand on Shepard's. "What is the plan, then? I assume you have thought this out already?"

Shepard nodded, turning her hand to grip Liara's. "I want to try to talk him down. I know you blame him for your mother's death, but I think we should try to continue her work. Try and turn him from this path. If that fails… If talking fails, we put him down. Hard. My question is, do you need the satisfaction of his death at your hands? Or should I deliver the killing blow myself if the opportunity arises?" Liara took a deep breath before responding, giving Shepard's hand a light squeeze. "I agree. We should try to talk to him. My mother would expect that much of me. To answer your question though, no, I do not need to kill him myself. You warned me, with good cause, to not allow my need for revenge to turn me into a killer. If we are able to overpower him, I would not have you hesitate to end his life."

Shepard nodded, glad that Liara was willing to allow her to try and talk the ex-Spectre down. She hadn't known if she would be able to convince the asari to see the necessity of the attempt. She knew that if the roles were reversed, she would have a damn hard time seeing it herself. With that settled, Shepard was racking her brain to decide what to do to pass the time until they reached Virmire. Thinking of nothing better to do than continue their morning make-out session, Shepard surprised Liara by climbing into her lap. Placing her hands on Liara's upper chest, she pushed the asari back in her chair, but was surprised when Liara winced. "What was that, Li?" Liara shook her head, stretching her neck in an attempt to reach Shepard's lips. "Nothing, Elizabeth. A passing thought. Think nothing of it." Shepard pressed on her chest again, this time with more force and Liara couldn't contain the yelp of pain that passed her lips.

"Alright, Liara, that wasn't a 'passing thought.' Let's see it." Liara blushed shyly, shaking her head. "Come on Liara, this is not the first time I will have seen someone's bare chest." Liara shook her head again. "It will be the first time you have seen _mine_ and it is most certainly _not_ in presentable condition. The bruising is rather… _extensive_. I'll die of embarrassment if your reaction to seeing me for the first time is a wince." Shepard laughed, causing Liara to blush again, but got up from Liara's lap and rummaged through a cabinet until she found a tube of medigel. Returning to stand in front of Liara she waggled the tube in her fingers. "Up, T'Soni. Either I see to it, or Chakwas does."

Liara stood and huffed in annoyance. "You are quite persistent when you set your mind to something, Shepard. You are lucky I like that about you. What makes you think I would choose you over a medical professional?" Shepard laughed softly and shrugged her shoulders. "Because a medical professional would not worship your body as I do," she state matter of factly. "That and I am less likely to ground you from the mission." Liara relented, and began to take off her shirt. As her shirt passed over her head and was completely removed, Liara stared up at the ceiling, hoping to find something of interest up there. Shepard was convinced that nothing could be more adorable than a shy Liara and took pity on the poor asari. Seeking to distract Liara from her current lack of clothing, she brought up the cause of the bruise.

"So, you going to regale me with the story behind this, or am I to guess that Wrex thought you were a particularly pretty blue punching bag?" Liara laughed despite herself and folded her arms across her stomach. "It happened when you were charging across the minefield. The rifles are aptly named, firing massive harpoons. They didn't pierce my barriers, but my barriers couldn't fully stop the projectiles either. They hit with jarring force, driving my breath from my lungs."

Shepard wasn't particularly paying attention to Liara's story, busy as she was casting a critical eye over her injuries. Liara's chest was mottled with dark purple to nearly black bruises. Of particular concern to Shepard was the markings over Liara's ribs. Practiced fingers prodded at ribs, searching for breaks. Liara winced occasionally, but endured the procedure with a great deal of patience. Convinced that nothing was more serious than some nasty bruising, Shepard broke open the tube of medigel and warmed a glob of it up in her hand. Placing her hands against Liara's shoulder, which appeared to have also taken a hit, she gently massaged the gel into Liara's skin. Not for the first time, Shepard marveled at how amazing the pebbled blue skin felt.

Shepard continued her way down Liara's body, the asari hissing as she passed over the place where the round had impacted. The hiss was immediately replaced with a sigh of relief as the anesthetic in the medigel numbed the pain. Careful to avoid the swell of Liara's breasts, concentrated as she was on keeping this a strictly clinical experience, Shepard massaged the gel into her ribs. The pattern of hissing and sighing was repeated several times before Shepard reached the edge of the bruising. Shepard leaned in and kissed Liara, having finished her game of doctor Shepard. As she deepened the kiss, she dragged her nails across the pebbled skin of Liara's stomach, causing a hitch in the asari's breath. Shepard's hands trailed upwards in a teasingly slow fashion.

Liara's head was already spinning, drunk off of the taste of Shepard and the stimulation offered by her wandering hands, inching slowly towards their intended destination. She felt a plaintive whine in her throat as Shepard teased her further, skipping the direct contact she desired and floating across the sides of her breasts. Liara was a bundle of nerves, wondering if Shepard was just going to tease her. Shepard, on the other hand was maintaining her usual level of discipline. Liara was intoxicating, but Shepard refused to get lost in the experience, so focused was she on her objective. Shepard had no intention of simply teasing the asari, she wanted her to take control. She was pleased then, when after several minutes of teasing touches, Liara growled and took her hands and placed them roughly upon her breasts.

Liara could feel Shepard's mouth curl into a smile as she chuckled, rewarding the asari for her directness by roughly palming the offered flesh. Shepard broke the kiss, earning another subtle whine from the asari. She began kissing her jawline, trailing kisses, licks, and nips lower. Pausing at a pulse point on the asari's neck, she bit and sucked at the flesh, eliciting a groan of pleasure from Liara. Shepard was taking great pleasure in seeing which actions earned which sounds from the inexperienced asari. So far it would seem as if Liara was finding rougher treatment more enjoyable, something that Shepard made a mental note of. Shepard dragged her teeth down to Liara's collarbone where she paused again, noticing her previous attention to Liara's neck had not left a mark.

Shepard was intrigued, and more than a little disappointed that she had failed to mark the asari. Liara's hands were balled up in Shepard's hair, gently scratching and pulling at the silken locks. Leaving her current target behind, Shepard kissed her way down the slope of Liara's breast. Liara was panting at this point, sticking her chest out in an effort to hurry Shepard's attentions along. Shepard's hands had been roaming again, and as her mouth finally landed on the hardened pebble that had been screaming for attention, her hand sought out the other, pinching the stiffened nub between the inner edges of her index and middle finger. Liara gasped as Shepard finally brought her attention to her stiffening nipples, her body shuddering in pleasure.

Shepard was having a hard time controlling herself at this point, and groaned deep in her chest when she realized just how sensitive Liara was. Every small touch was driving the asari wild, and Shepard could not get enough of the small noises escaping her throat. Shepard's hand and mouth traded places, Liara sucking in a gasp of air as the cool air blew across the moistened tip of her breast. Shepard alternated between lavishing her breasts with nips and licks and gently dragging her teeth across the asari's nipples, the latter causing the asari to groan and jump the first time Shepard did it. Shepard was beginning to wonder if Liara would ever be bold enough to ask for what she wanted, as she had been working at Liara's chest for quite a while.

Liara could barely think straight, the heat in her core was demanding the entirety of her attention. She couldn't ever remember being so desperate for someone's touch. She was fighting a battle internally, one between her shyness and her need to find relief for her aching center. As time went on, her resolve began to falter, her heart was hammering in her chest and her face was flushed. Finally, her body's desires won out over her embarrassment and she managed a husky whisper. "Shepard… Ellie… please." Shepard grinned and looked up at Liara, the asari's eyes half closed. "Please what, love?" Liara grabbed Shepard's wrist and dragged her hand lower, placing it over the heat that had been building.

Shepard chuckled quietly, taking pity on the shy asari and began stripping her of her remaining clothing. Liara was beyond being shy at this point and stepped quickly out of her pants as they pooled around her ankles. Shepard looked Liara over and glanced around the room. Shepard quickly picked the panting asari up, who offered a quiet squeak, and took her over to their bed, gently laying her down at the foot of it. Picking up their kiss where they had left off, Shepard positioned herself over Liara and used a thigh to part Liara's legs. Shifting her weight to her right arm, her left trailed it's way down Liara's body, nails raking over the textured flesh in an agonizingly slow crawl to Liara's aching center. Shepard paused within inches of the place she most desired to be and broke the kiss with Liara. After a few seconds of inaction, Liara's eyelids fluttered open to see a questioning look from Shepard.

Liara's heart melted at the soft look of love that Shepard was sending her direction. Even here, inches away from where she wanted to be, she was making sure Liara was comfortable with what was about to happen. Liara nodded once, and Shepard wasted no more time teasing her. Shepard placed her hand over Liara's dripping core and pressed her palm firmly against the ridge above, shocked at how much heat was emanating from the asari. Shepard was rewarded with a shuddering intake of breath. Leaning down, she rested her forehead against Liara's and stared into the asari's eyes as she parted silken walls with her middle finger, cautiously exploring the depth of Liara's center. Sensing no resistance or hesitation, Shepard added her ring finger to Liara's sex and hooked her fingers upwards as she ground her palm into Liara's hardened nub.

Liara was lost in a world of new sensations. Sure, she had done this herself when her body desired it while alone on expeditions, but nothing could have prepared her for the touch of another. Liara found herself wondering why she had waited so long to do something like this when her eyes locked with Shepard's. Emerald green pools of emotion that seemed to pierce into her very soul. 'Because it had to be you,' Liara found herself thinking. Liara felt, and to her embarrassment, heard Shepard begin to thrust her fingers inside of her, dragging the tips of her fingers against her sensitive front wall. For the first few thrusts, Liara could only gasp, the stimulation nearly too much for her before the sensation became bearable. Liara could feel something building within her, familiar, yet different, stronger than any time before.

Liara leaned forward, claiming the pulse point on Shepard's throat with her mouth. She could feel a surge of pleasurable stretching as Shepard worked a third finger into her, causing her to gently bite Shepard's neck. Shepard groaned, deep in her chest as she felt Liara's teeth. She could feel Liara's hips rolling to meet each plunge of her fingers, and could see the rise and fall of Liara's chest as she took in great breaths of air. Minutes ticked by in seconds, so wrapped up in the show was she that she nearly missed the signs of the impending meld.

Liara was nearly coming undone, her muscles were clenched as she fought against the coming… explosion was the only word she could think of for it. Her eyes were nearly solid black as she waited for permission to meld that she didn't need. Her teeth were sinking deeper into Shepard's flesh, nearly to the point of drawing blood when Shepard pressed firmly against her with the palm of her hand and thrusted a final time, dragging her palm against the sensitive bundle of nerves above her core.

Liara squealed as every muscle in her body contracted, her teeth digging into Shepard's neck deeper than intended. Shepard felt Liara tumble awkwardly into her mind and was carried away in a flood of sensations coming from the asari's overworked body. Shepard felt each pulsing second of release as if it was her own. Liara's heat contracted around her, squeezing and milking her fingers for every ounce of pleasure they could provide as she came undone. So tumultuous was Liara's release in her mind, that Shepard was blindsided by her own orgasm as it ripped it's way through her body. Her body worked on instinct, pressing her clothed sex against Liara's thigh in an effort to find any contact to ride out her pleasure with. Shepard collapsed, half on top of Liara as she struggled to draw in air, the pair of them sounding as if they had run a marathon.

Shepard reveled in the feelings coming from across the meld, every small aftershock coursing through their bodies was doubled, transmitted to their partner and experienced as their own. Finally the waves of pleasure ceased and Shepard was confused by a twinge of discomfort. She nearly laughed when she realized it was not her body that the signal originated with, but Liara's. Slowly, Shepard withdrew her fingers from Liara's sex, the asari sorry to feel them go, but grateful for the relief that followed. Liara watched as Shepard brought her hand to her face. "I have been dying to taste you," Shepard whispered as she stuck her ring finger into her mouth. Liara's eyes widened and her mouth parted as she gasped. Liara was trying to think of a more erotic thing she had ever seen but came up empty. She grabbed Shepard by the neck and kissed her with bruising force, blushing when she realized she could taste herself on Shepard's lips.

As they parted, Liara gasped and found herself blushing again, her hand coming away from Shepard's neck smeared with red blood. Shepard chuckled, feeling insecurity from Liara's side of the meld, she kissed the blood smeared palm of Liara's hand. "You are beautiful, Liara. Your smell is intoxicating. The sounds you make drive me wild. A simple touch from you lights a fire inside of me. And you taste great, too. There is nothing about you that I do not love, Liara T'Soni." Liara closed her eyes and hummed, withdrawing from the meld with Shepard as she heard exactly what she had needed to hear from Shepard's lips. "That was… perfect, Ellie. I… thank you for being so patient with me. Goddess… is it always like that? So… rapturous?"

Shepard smiled softly, shaking her head. "Sometimes. I guess it depends on who you are with. I have been with only a few others, and none compared to what I just felt with you. Then again, I have never loved any of the others… My guess is emotion has a lot do with it. Though, admittedly, nobody has ever gotten me off without touching me before." Liara grinned wickedly, shocked by her own boldness as she replied. "That is right, I have not touched you… yet." Liara rolled on top of Shepard and took her wrists in her hands and held them above Shepard's head, pinning them to the bed. As she leaned down to kiss her, the ship's comm system pinged overhead. "ETA to Virmire fifteen minutes." Liara frowned, biting at Shepard's lower lip. "Next time, then, my love."

Shepard smiled, glad to see Liara coming out of her shell. Lifting herself from the bed, she quickly changed into her under armor mesh, dropping her soiled clothing into a laundry bin for later cleaning. "Promises, promises, Liara."

…

Virmire was turning out to be a pain in the ass mission if ever there was one. Getting to the surface of the planet had been easy enough. Even reaching the salarian base camp had been simple. But now, every damned anti air turret on the planet was keeping the Normandy from lifting off again. On top of that, Captain Kirrahe wanted one of Shepard's group to accompany a diversionary strike against Saren's compound so her team could sneak in and disable the fort's defenses and plant a bomb in the middle of the damned thing. She had two volunteers for a mission she wanted her people to have no part in. Shepard couldn't deny the request though. The salarians would require someone with more combat ability than the spies were capable of bringing to the table.

It was easy then to decide who to send with Kirrahe out of the two volunteers, Kaidan and Ashley. Ashley was a marine through and through. If anyone could hold a line, it was Chief Williams. As Shepard ordered her to fall in with the diversionary squad she would be commanding, she hoped she hadn't just ordered the chief's death. Out of the two volunteers, she saw more raw potential in Ashley, both on and off the field. Time to see if that potential measured up to the competition. Shepard reflected on who to take with her as the shadow team. She wanted to take all of them, but knew that the whole ground squad would draw too much attention.

She decided that Kaidan would escort and prime the bomb, and that Liara and Wrex would join her on the ground. Shepard was glad she was able to talk Wrex down when it had come to light that Saren supposedly had a cure for the genophage. That kind of weapon in Saren's hands couldn't be allowed to exist, and Wrex knew it. Talking him down had been surprisingly easy. Shepard felt she should have given Wrex a bit more credit. Perhaps taking him on a killing spree would go towards making up for the necessary destruction of any supposed cure. Wrex seemed solid as she ordered him to fall in. The krogan sauntered up to the line to join Shepard with his usual lack of grace.

Shepard was surprised to see how determined Liara was when she was called upon to join the shadow team. Whether it was due to her need for revenge, or something else, she couldn't determine. Garrus and Tali were ordered to wait with the ship and assist with the extraction if it got hot. Shepard had a bad feeling about this mission. They were about to assault the base of one of the greatest Spectres to have served, served by an army of geth and a growing number of krogan. On top of that, he commanded a reaper ship of untold power. Shepard felt this mission was going to get very hairy very quickly.

…

Shepard had been right. As soon as she entered the main compound, there were indoctrinated salarians. One had been left untainted by the indoctrination as a control group. He told a grim tale of horrible experiments to study the effects of indoctrination. Apparently, this base was used to study the effects of the reaper ship on organic minds. The salarians that were taken aboard came back without much left in the way of mental stability. They were wild, savage things that would attack anything not aligned with Saren. Shepard had released the only survivor of the experiment with instructions to return back to base camp and await extraction. The rest of the salarians she mercifully put down.

Further into the compound they came upon a krogan scientist who was working on cloning a massive krogan army for Saren. Several stasis fields were holding husks dormant along the left wall of the lab, and an asari assistant was monitoring one of the creatures. Wrex stomped into the room and put the krogan scientist down hard, wading into the group of husks as they were released from stasis. Shepard watched as the big lizard used his massive shotgun as a club, beating back the horde of husks before letting loose with the weapon in it's intended fashion, cutting down chunks of enemies at a time.

When the last of the husks went down, Shepard joined Wrex at the far side of the lab, ready to proceed deeper into the complex, Liara right behind her. A few brief firefights saw them through to a small room occupied by one very frightened asari. The asari introduced herself as Rana Thanoptis, a scientist tasked by Saren to study the effects of indoctrination. She offered up a great deal of information with very little prodding, including one very shocking bit of information. She believed Saren was concerned he was becoming indoctrinated. In fact, her first specimen she examined was her indoctrinated predecessor. Shepard thought this information over carefully. She had thought Saren was in control of everything, including Benezia. What if Saren was just another victim in this?

Rana showed them the entrance to Saren's personal lab and asked Shepard if she could go. Shepard thought the question over and realized if her predecessor had been indoctrinated, she likely was too. There was too much risk. Shepard nodded her head and waved towards the door. As soon as the asari was at the door, Shepard drew her pistol and fired, putting a round in the back of her head. Rana never saw it coming. Shepard docked her pistol and turned to Liara and Wrex. "Everybody on board with what I just did?" Wrex shrugged indifferently and made his way over to the elevator to Saren's lab. Liara sadly nodded her head, understanding the logic of the decision but not liking that it had to be done.

As the trio entered Saren's lab, they saw an intact prothean beacon on the lower level. Shepard approached the device and activated it, the green pillar lifting her off of her feet with an unseen force and shoving it's stored information roughly into her mind. Shepard was dangling in the air, arms splayed out for what felt like minutes to Liara, though it could only have been a few seconds. Finally, Shepard dropped to the ground, landing in a crouch. Slowly, she stood up, the vision in her head finally complete. Shepard smiled at Liara. "I have it, I have the complete vision! Let's get back to the ship and warn the council."

Wrex was still on the upper level and called down to the pair. "Shepard? You're going to want to see this…" Shepard jogged up the ramp with Liara in tow, seeing a massive red holographic interface that looked an awful like the ship she had encountered on Eden Prime. "You are not Saren," the hologram said in a deep and ominous voice. Liara seemed disturbed by the proclamation. "What is that? Some kind of VI interface," she asked in a hushed voice. The image responded immediately, not pausing for them to discuss what it was they might be talking to. "Rudimentary creatures of blood and flesh, you touch my mind, fumbling in ignorance, incapable of understanding."

Liara stepped back from the image, a touch of fear in her voice. "I don't think this is a VI, Shepard…" "There is a realm of existence so far beyond your own, you cannot even imagine it. I am beyond your comprehension. I am Sovereign," the machine said, as if speaking to a child. Realization dawned on Shepard, and with it came a sense of panic. "You're no reaper ship… you're a reaper!" "Reaper. A label created by the protheans to give voice to their destruction. In the end, what they chose to call us is irrelevant. We simply… are." The voice of the ancient construct was wearing on Shepard's nerves, her mind telling her body it was time to flee. Only her training kept her in control of her body.

Liara stepped closer to the hologram. "The reapers vanished fifty thousand years ago, you couldn't have been there. It's impossible!" "Organic life is nothing but a genetic mutation. An accident. Your lives are measured in years and decades. You wither and die. We are eternal. The pinnacle of evolution and existence. Before us, you are nothing. Your extinction is inevitable. We are the end of everything." Shepard had heard enough of the machine's ranting. "The species of this galaxy will not stand by as you eradicate them. You cannot face all of us."

If it was at all possible, the machine's voice sounded more malicious as it replied. "Confidence born of ignorance. The cycle cannot be broken." Liara inched closer to Shepard. "I had theorized something like this, Shepard. A cycle of extinction that has repeated in history. This is… not good." "The pattern has repeated itself more times than you can fathom. Organic civilizations rise, evolve, advance. And at the apex of their glory, they are extinguished. The protheans were not the first, they did not create the citadel. They did not forge the mass relays, they merely found them. The legacy of my kind." Shepard felt as if the machine was… gloating.

"Why would you construct the mass relays then leave them for someone else to find," Shepard asked. "Your civilization is based on the technology of the mass relays. Our technology. By using it, your society develops along the paths we desire. We impose order on the chaos of organic evolution. You exist because we allow it. And you will end because we demand it." Liara forced herself to speak past the lump in her throat. "You're harvesting us! Letting us advance to the level you need then wiping us out!" "Where are the rest of the reapers then," Shepard asked. "Are you the last of your kind?"

"We are legion. The time of our return is coming. Our number will darken the skies of every world. You cannot escape your doom." Shepard was done dealing with the machine. "You're not even alive. Not really. You're just a machine, and machines can be broken." The machine sounded like it was… laughing. "Your words are as empty as your future. I am the vanguard of your destruction. This exchange is over." The hologram snapped out of existence and every window in the compound shattered.

Just as the noise of broken glass settled, Joker piped in over her suit's comms. "Shepard, you gotta get out of there. That ship just pulled a turn that would have sheared any of our ships in half. It is headed right for you." Shepard acknowledged the report and yelled for her team to move. Resistance was heavy from geth forces as Shepard's team made their way to the bomb's location. Shepard's mind was racing trying to accept all of what she had learned from Sovereign. 'Could all of this really be happening?' The appearance of a geth prime snapped her out of her dazed rush and brought her crashing back to reality. The trio opened fire on the platform, knocking it down quickly before targeting the remaining hostiles that separated them from the bomb site.

Shepard arrived at the bomb site with her ground team intact. Kaidan was busying himself with arming the massive weapon when Ashley called for assistance on teamwide comms. "Roger that Ash. We are on the way." Kaidan assured her that the bomb would be armed and ready by the time she returned. They had plenty of time. Or so Shepard had thought. Her earlier feeling that the mission was going to go to hell quickly was returning as Kaidan piped up on the comms when she was only have way to Ashley's position. Geth troops were dropping in and surrounding the bomb site. Ashley and Kaidan were arguing on the comms, trying to get Shepard to save the other. There was only time to save one.

Shepard calmed her racing thoughts. There was time to save someone if she acted quickly. If she didn't act, both died. Now was not the time to fall apart. Shepard's mind raced as she struggled to make a decision, but in her heart, she had already decided. "Ashley… I'm on my way. Kaidan…" Kaidan sounded resolute as he interrupted her. "Nothing you need to say, Shepard. It is the right choice. The bomb is armed. Timer starts… now. It's been an honor, Commander." Shepard struggled to make her feet move to take her to the AA guns, Ashley's position. Her heart was lead in her chest and her mind was in turmoil as she left one of the only people she could trust to die.

The squad made it to Ashley's location just before it became overrun by geth forces. Shepard and Wrex waded into the fray, blasting geth platforms away with shotguns and biotics as Liara slung her biotics as fast as she could from a distance. Ashley fell near the end of the wave, a round penetrating her armor and plowing into her guts. Just as the last geth platform fell, Shepard was blasted with a biotic throw, knocking her off her feet and several meters away. Saren came down from above riding some sort of hoverboard. As Shepard crawled to cover, Saren stepped off his board and spoke. "Should have killed you on Eden Prime, Shepard. You have been a thorn in my side since the beginning. Killing Benezia was a serious blow, Shepard. And infiltrating my base. I admit, I am impressed. My geth were convinced the salarians were the real threat. Of course, this is all for nothing. I cannot allow you to destroy all that I have accomplished here. You can't fathom what is at stake."

Shepard stuck her head out from cover and shouted back at the rogue Spectre. "Sovereign and the reapers are returning to wipe us out. What part am I missing, Saren?" Saren was quick to reply, hoping to turn Shepard to his side. "You have seen the visions from the beacons. You know what the reapers have done, what they can do. You know they cannot be stopped. Is submission not preferable to extinction? Look to the protheans for guidance. Wiped out for daring to stand against their betters." Shepard was far from convinced. "I would rather die than serve those machines. Better to die free than live as a slave, Saren!"

"Now you know why I did not try to bring this up to the council. Organics would revolt, choosing needless death over service to our betters. Perhaps if we are useful to the reapers, they might spare us! You would lead us to a pointless war that we cannot hope to win!" Shepard scoffed, gazing around the battlefield to see where her team was positioned. "Listen to yourself Saren. You already know what I am about to tell you. You're indoctrinated. So wound up in doing what you think is the right thing, you can't see that it will lead to the death of all organic life! Sovereign is using you! We can destroy the reapers together, just join me!"

Saren paused, contemplating what Shepard had said. She had given voice to his deepest fear. But he could not accept that answer. "No… they would not indoctrinate what they could use. They need me Shepard. They do not need you." With that, Saren jumped back onto his hoverboard and began blasting Shepard's cover with biotic attacks. Shepard rolled out of cover and pulled her pistol, peppering Saren's barriers with incendiary rounds. Noticing that Saren was attacking Shepard with single minded ferocity, Liara was launching biotic attacks at the turian, hoping to bring down his barriers for Shepard to finish him off. Wrex was patiently advancing towards Saren, a step at a time as he jumped from cover to cover in an effort to catch him off guard. Seeing his opening, Wrex jumped up from cover and made a mad dash at Saren, managing to get within a couple meters of the turian as his hoverboard dipped towards the ground. Once he was within range, Wrex fired his massive shotgun at Saren, the explosive blast of shrapnel tearing down what was left of his barriers and severely damaging his shields.

Saren turned on Wrex and hit him with a biotic throw that sent him flying into a pile of metal containers, wedging him in place. As he struggled to get out of his momentary prison, Saren turned his attention back to Shepard, launching a savage warp that decimated the commander's barriers. Shepard ducked back behind cover to allow her biotics time to recharge from the blow as Saren jumped off of his hoverboard and stomped his way over to Liara, lifting her by her throat and squeezing with his thick talons. Liara struggled to break the turian's hold on her, but lacked the strength to overpower Saren. Liara caught a glimpse of a blue-white blur over Saren's shoulder before her world went black.

Shepard saw Liara dangling in the air, powerless to free herself from Saren's iron grip. Shepard felt the familiar surge of dark energy coursing through her veins, and charged Saren. A sharp crack was heard as she impacted with her shoulder against his exposed ribs. Saren dropped the now motionless body of Liara and whirled in place, his talons outstretched in an effort to catch Shepard in the face with the deadly claws. Shepard let out a mournful cry as she watched Liara crumble to the ground, and barely caught the movement of Saren's swipe at her. Ducking low, she channeled her biotics through her body, preparing for hand to hand combat. Shepard caught Saren with a savage uppercut, his jaw cracking under the biotic blow.

Saren was losing ground as Shepard unleashed a combo of furious blows, battering the turians armor and metallic skin. Shepard realized she had the upper hand in close combat against the turian. He had razor sharp talons, but they couldn't pierce her armor, and were so overdeveloped as to be impossible to curl into a proper fist. Sensing the battle was hers, she pressed forward, refusing to give the turian time to recover or retreat. After a particularly devastating combo that left Saren dazed, Shepard landed a powerful biotic haymaker to the turian's face. Shepard could hear the crack of tooth and carapace as the blow landed.

Saren was badly injured, bleeding internally in several places and his armor was leaking dark blue blood with every step he took. His left arm was broken and unusable and his mouth was shattered. Shepard was out for blood, the love of her life in unknown condition on the ground. Saren could not believe he was being bested by a human. A female one at that. With what remained of his biotic power, he summoned up a weak throw, knocking Shepard off balance enough for Saren to pull out his shotgun and pump her midsection full of shrapnel. Shepard watched as Saren hobbled to his hoverboard and collapsed on the odd vehicle, blood pouring out of several open wounds. The hoverboard acted, seemingly on it's own, and carried Saren away from combat. As the turian retreated, Shepard pulled out her pistol and placed several well aimed rounds into the rogue Spectre's body, aiming to bleed him to death if she couldn't do it with her fists.

As the hoverboard disappeared into the distance, the Normandy swooped in and Tali and Garrus along with several techs from the ship quickly got all of the wounded aboard. Joker fired up the thrusters and the ship took off at a frightening pace. Shepard pawed at her gut, dropping her head to the deck in thanks that the shrapnel had not penetrated her armor. Suddenly, her thoughts turned to Liara and she bolted up from the deck, sprinting to the med bay. By the time she arrived, all wounded had entered the med bay and Karin had sealed the room off, already prepping for surgery on the many injured parties.

The weight of everything that had happened on the planet finally hit Shepard and she bit her lip hard in an effort to keep it together. Kaidan was dead. Ashley was down. Liara was injured. Saren had escaped. She had failed. Shepard felt, deep in her gut, that this had been the chance to end it all before it got so much worse, and she had failed. Without seeing the body, she had to assume Saren would survive his injuries, extensive as they had seemed. He would keep going. He knew where the conduit was. Shepard did too, but she lacked the resources to follow him. She had to talk to the Council. Convince them to send a fleet. Shepard fought hard to not let her voice sound so defeated as she told Joker to plot a course to the Citadel. It seemed she failed that as well.


	8. Chapter 8

AN: Welcome back, readers! I apologize for the 5 month hiatus, but real life can be a trip and a half! The good news is, I am back! More good news: this is the last chapter I rush through. After this chapter, everything becomes more detailed, more in depth, and more dramatic! Having said that, this chapter feels rushed. I wanted to pace it in such a way that the time crunch came across, but instead it just reads like I was lazy. I hope that is just because I am too hard on myself. Let me know in the comments!

...

Shepard was waiting in the mess hall, seated so as to see the door to the med bay. She had been staring at the red haptic interface for what felt like hours after the Virmire mission. The salarian squad leader, Captain Kirrahe, had come by to give his thanks for their timely arrival and their help in completing the mission. The visit had helped put things in perspective for Shepard. Her team had taken some hits, but the salarian team was down to twenty percent of it's original numbers. Shepard had apologized for their losses, but Kirrahe waved her off. "Not your fault. Given impossible task. Council should have sent a fleet. Council at fault. Not you. Will inform them of this when we arrive back at the Citadel," he had said.

Shepard was debating going to her quarters to sleep her way to the Citadel when the med bay doors finally opened, revealing a sight that gave Shepard no end of relief. Liara walked out of the med bay under her own power, not a hint of injury on the asari. Shepard rushed from her seat and hugged Liara, lifting her from the ground in her excitement, earning her a quiet squeak. "I'm so thankful you're okay, Liara. I didn't know how badly you were hurt and Chakwas had locked down the med bay. I was worried sick out here." Shepard kissed Liara full on in the mess hall, the existence of other people who might see didn't matter anymore.

Liara finally managed to free herself from Shepard's grasp and grabbed the woman's hand, dragging her to their shared quarters, away from prying eyes. "I am sorry to have caused you to worry, Ellie. I should have fallen back, done something to evade Saren. I underestimated him. The last thing I remember seeing was you becoming a blur as you charged him. What did I miss?" Shepard sighed and gave Liara a quick rundown of the fight as she remembered it. She ended with his escape and her uncertainty regarding his survival. "We have to operate on the assumption that he is still alive. We cannot afford to risk him living and continuing his crusade unopposed. I am sorry Liara… I should have used my knife. I got overly confident as he lost so much ground. I was so sure of my victory, and now… now I am not sure it was a victory at all. It certainly doesn't feel like one."

Liara was quiet for a moment, considering her next words carefully before finally replying with what she believed Shepard needed to hear. "You did everything correctly, Elizabeth. Every moment you were on that planet, you were faced with a decision. And I am certain that with each decision you weighed your options carefully. I doubt you would have intentionally chosen the wrong course, Ellie. You moved forward as best as you knew how. Do not lose sight of your accomplishments. You saved Ashley. You bested a Spectre with over twenty years in service to the Council. And I have no doubt you saved my life."

Shepard bowed her head, resting her forehead against Liara's. "Thank you, Liara. I think… I feel like I could have done better. Seeing how it all went down, a few simple changes to our strategy would have ensured Kaidan survived. A slight change to my combat tactics could have assured Saren's death. But you are right, there are accomplishments in the day, too. One you did not list comes to mind. In the beacon, I saw the full message. I know where the conduit is. It is on an ancient planet beyond the Mu relay. It is on-" "It is on Ilos," Liara interrupted excitedly. "You have found Ilos!" Shepard smiled, nodding her head. Liara was ecstatic, beaming with excitement as she rambled on about the significance of Ilos to the archeology community surrounding research of the protheans.

Liara found herself trailing off as she became rather distracted. She was used to people tuning her out when she started rambling about protheans and her fascination with them. She had noticed rather late in her excited speech that Shepard was following along, seemingly eager to listen to Liara ramble on about something that bored most people. "Shepard… are you actually listening to me?" Shepard furrowed her brow, confusion evident on her face. "Um… of course? Should I not be?" Liara found it odd that such a simple act would have such a profound impact on her. Shepard may not care about the protheans as much as she was pretending to, but she cared about her enough to make an effort. That meant more to Liara than she could put into words. She felt butterflies in her stomach and her heart beat harder in her chest. Finally she managed to breathe out, "Goddess… what did I ever do to deserve your love?"

Shepard was feeling rather out of the loop, unsure what had brought on this display from Liara, but decided to answer the question, sensing something important had happened. "Simple, Li. You let me into your heart. How could I not love such a perfect, innocent soul?" Liara melted into Shepard's arms, placing her lips gently against Shepard's in a chaste kiss. Her hands, resting on Shepard's cheeks fell lower, trailing down from her jaw to her neck. Liara felt a rough patch on Shepard's neck and broke off the kiss, turning Shepard's head to the right. Liara turned a dark shade of purple as she saw the scabbed over bite mark on the fair skin of Shepard's neck. "Why have you not treated this?"

Shepard blushed a bit, turning a lovely shade of red as Liara stared into her eyes. "Because I like it… every time I feel it sting, I relive how I earned it. The idea of being marked by you sends a rush of excitement through me every time I remember it." Liara could scarcely believe it, but her heart actually ached with how much she loved the human before her. She silently wondered if love was supposed to ache, but quickly forgot the thought as she kissed Shepard again. "Goddess… you just say these things. Do you have any idea what they do to me, Ellie?" Shepard grinned, kissing Liara on the forehead before settling her hands on her lover's hips. "I think I have some clue as to what they do," Shepard said knowingly.

Liara smiled and kissed Shepard once more upon the lips before turning and heading to the bed with a sigh. "Then stop saying such things when we are both exhausted. You look about ready to fall over, and I do not believe I am far behind you." Shepard offered a soft smile, following Liara to the back of the office to their bed. "You worried I don't have the stamina to follow through, T'Soni?" Liara chuckled as she laid down upon the bed, pulling covers up to her chin as she rolled onto her side. "I do not doubt the great Commander Shepard. But this poor asari is quite tired." Shepard found her usual cocky grin again and laid down next to Liara, pulling her closer as she settled into the bed. "Mmm. Then I suppose I have to take pity on you and let you sleep." Liara purred happily as she pressed her back more closely against Shepard's chest.

…

To say Shepard was pissed would be a monumental understatement. In the last half hour, the Council had denied her request for a fleet to follow Saren, dismissed her fear of the reapers, and allowed the sniveling rat Udina to ground her ship. Luckily, Anderson had invited her to a bar to discuss a plan, or Shepard was sure she would have marched angrily in Tevos' office directly after the Council meeting. As it was, she wasted no time in meeting Anderson.

Shepard found Anderson's plan to be simple and straightforward. Walk into Udina's office and rescind the grounding order from the ambassador's own terminal. If Udina got in the way, Anderson wouldn't hesitate to incapacitate him long enough to get the job done. This plan appealed to Shepard on multiple levels, but mostly because it involved Udina getting beaten. After agreeing to the plan, Shepard leisurely made her way back to the Normandy and planted herself behind the pilot's chair. It took several long minutes of waiting, but just as Shepard was beginning to worry about Anderson, the controls lit up across the board and she gave the order to leave immediately.

As the ship left the docking station, Shepard made her way to her quarters to prepare for the potential end of all things. They were several hours away from Ilos and there was nothing really to do as far as preparations went. She doubted she would be able to sleep, as restless as her mind was, but was determined to try. Shepard stepped into her room to find the lights were all dimmed. A pair of lips ambushed her from the dark corner behind her and to her left. Shepard felt her pulse quicken in response to Liara's sudden appearance. Turning in the asari's embrace, she walked backward, guiding them deeper into the room. Liara willingly followed Shepard past the desk and near the bed at the back of the room but halted before tumbling on to the bed with Shepard.

"Elizabeth, these may be our last few hours together. The odds are stacked against us, and should Saren succeed, all galactic life is at risk. We may fall at any moment in the coming battles, and I find the thought of my death to be less terrifying than I expected. I will be the first to admit, I have not been a very good asari thus far in life. I have not spent my maiden years as others choose to. I sometimes wonder if I took up archeology just to spite my mother. And I seem to lack the ability for the asari 'long view' of life. What I mean to say is… the thought of losing you terrifies me. I have been taught to cherish my time with the lesser lived species. To not focus on their impending death when compared to asari or krogan. It was a lesson I never really picked up. Ellie… you are going to be leading the battle against a reaper! What am I supposed to do besides prepare to mourn that which I have to lose?"

Shepard was quiet for a while, Liara looking at her hoping she held all of the answers. When Shepard finally spoke, her voice was solemn and quiet. "I don't know that I can help you, Liara… I have no wish to die… in fact, the thought of death frightens me tremendously. I don't really believe in anything after this life… and nothingness does not appeal to me. But I don't have room for that fear in my life. I can't let it take hold of me or I would be frozen in combat, too terrified to even breathe. I have to be the one to charge into battle, Li. I must because it is what I am best at. But I have always come back, always returned after the battle to mourn those that fell around me. There will come a day when you have to mourn my loss, Liara. I am only human, I only get maybe 150 years. But know that as long as it is in my power, I will always return to you. I want those other 120 years with you, Liara. So don't write me off just yet. Trust in my abilities, my determination. Trust that they will always guide me back to you."

Liara moved to join Shepard, sitting on her lap and wrapping one arm around her. Shepard's arms quickly moved to encircle to troubled asari. "It is going to be dangerous, Liara. There is always a risk. You can't let that weigh you down, though. Feel your fear, let it pass through you and then leave it behind. Live for and in the moments of rest. The moments of love, and hope and bliss. Hang on to those moments, let them bolster your strength when all other things fail you. And do not let your worry for the future ruin what is right in front of you. I am here, I am alive, and for the next few hours, I am all yours. Why spent that time fretting what might be?" Shepard placed a kiss on Liara's cheek and fell back to lay fully on the bed, dragging Liara down on top of her.

Liara found herself giggling at Shepard's playful antics despite herself. She fell silent and placed her head upon Shepard's chest, listening to the powerful heartbeat within. The sound calmed her, reminded her of what was important. Shepard felt the familiar tingle in the back of her mind of Liara requesting entry. Shepard lowered her powerful mental barriers and allowed Liara free access to her thoughts and feelings. Liara found many things within Shepard's mind. A calm sense of dedication, a feeling of great contentment, and the underlying current of love that supported the weight of everything that Shepard had to do. Liara allowed herself to get carried away by the strength of Shepard's being, surrendering herself wholly to Shepard's will.

Liara and Shepard laid floating in each other's minds for the remaining hours before arriving at Ilos, content to be lost in the feeling of oneness that existed only in the realm of the meld. Several thoughts were passed back and forth between the pair in silence during the trip of varying importance. Repeated over and over again was Shepard's promise. 'I will always return to you.'

…

Landing on Ilos had been a rather impressive display of piloting by Joker. As it happened, Shepard and the ground team had landed in the mako only 10 meters behind Saren when a door closed and locked them out of the underground complex beyond. Shepard had been furious that only a handful of seconds had cost them a great deal more time. Unlocking the door had taken them across a courtyard to a security station that had been used to lock down the complex. Between the actual trip to and from the station and clearing out the small army of geth that Saren had left behind, they had lost about thirty minutes of progress.

Shepard had jumped back into the mako and barely waited for the rear hatch to shut with everyone inside before she had rocketed into the underground complex at full throttle. Saren had been proceeding on feet with an army of geth at his back and Shepard was hopeful that the mako could make up for lost time. Saren had left pockets of geth resistance in his wake, intent on slowing Shepard enough to reach the conduit before her. The mako made short work of the geth with the cannon, and those that were not blasted apart were simply ran over in a mad dash to reach the conduit in time. Shepard could feel that they were catching up, the whole ground team in the back of the mako urging her to gun it every time the massive complex straightened out into a long corridor.

Shepard had to relive her previous fury as a transparent barrier erupted both in front of and behind her, locking the mako in place. She had almost ordered Wrex to fire the cannon at the barrier until she noticed a small doorway to the right. Seeing no other way forward, the ground team piled out of the mako and made their way into a large room containing thousands of stasis pods lining the walls. At the far end of the room was a terminal. As Shepard approached, a VI sparked to life. It introduced itself as Vigil, a prothean VI responsible for overseeing the preservation of the prothean scientists within the pods lining the walls.

Vigil explained that the extermination of the prothean people had taken centuries. Over time Vigil had to cut power to the pods of lesser researchers to preserve power to the more senior staff. The sacrifice had been successful. After the reapers had returned to dark space, the top twelve researchers were awakened to begin the work of stopping the cycle. Too few were left to repopulate the species. After they had sabotaged the next cycle, the last scientists died, finishing the extinction of the prothean people. When the reapers attempted to activate the Citadel, turning the massive space station into a relay, the command was met with silence. The prothean scientists had bought time for the next cycle.

This was why Sovereign was alone. Sovereign had sent the signal only to have it ignored. Shepard realized that the conduit was a relay that led right to the heart of the Citadel. Saren was going to activate the conduit and bring an army of geth to take over the Citadel, activating the ancient space station to allow the full reaper fleet to emerge from dark space. As a final act, Vigil provided Shepard with a program that would give her complete control over the Citadel's functions. If she arrived in time, she could stop the reaper invasion. Shepard took the program and sprinted back to the mako, the barrier blocking the hall dropping as Vigil bid them farewell. As Shepard cleared the room with the ground team and piled into the mako, Vigil glanced around the room of stasis pods one last time before snapping off, never to come back online.

The mako's engine was redlined the entire trip to the conduit, Shepard pushing the massive vehicle as fast as it would go for as long as it could go. Finally they found themselves at the top of a massive ramp, the entire valley below swarming with geth. At the far end of the valley was a miniature mass relay linking directly to the Citadel. Saren was already gone. Shepard stressed the mako's engine to the limit, barreling down the ramp and running over any geth unlucky enough to be caught in her path. Just as the mass relay was winding down in preparation to shut down for good, the mako was caught in it's field and flung through space beyond the speed of light. One second the mako was on Ilos, then it simply disappeared.

…

With a bright flash of light, the mako appeared on the Citadel, near the embassies. The mako emerged out of the miniature statue of a mass relay, apparently a fully working scale model. The mako flipped and somersaulted through the air a number of times, finally grinding to a halt upside down near C-Sec headquarters on the Citadel. The ground team was fairly shaken by the rough landing, but there were no real injuries to speak of. One by one they poured out of the overturned vehicle, jumping down to the ground a few feet below. Shepard looked over the wrecked mako, smirking as she noticed a few destroyed geth half buried underneath the scratched and dented hull. "Alright team form up. We know where Saren is headed. We don't know how many geth he managed to bring with him." Shepard stopped to pull up emergency comm channels. Nothing was coming through except an automated distress call from the Citadel itself. "Comms are out. My guess is Saren is already at the control console in the Council chambers. Let's move it, people."

Shepard made quick progress through the wrecked presidium with her squad at her back and made her way to the elevator that would take them up the central tower of the Citadel and into the Council chambers. As the team entered the elevator, it began it's slow climb up the massive tower. Shepard took a moment to stare out of the elevator's transparent walls just in time to watch Sovereign tear through the Citadel defense fleet and enter Citadel airspace. The ward arms of the Citadel slowly started to close around the giant dreadnaught, sealing it in the massive space station and protecting it from the remains of the Citadel fleet. Shepard watched in awe as the ship gently touched down at the top of the tower they were currently climbing.

While the landing had been gentle in ship terms, it had been damaging to the tower, the entire weight of the ship sitting upon the structure. The elevator stopped it's climb as the ship's landing damaged the elevator systems. After a few seconds of fiddling with the elevator controls, Shepard decided the elevator had shut down for good. She pulled out her pistol and aimed it at the back wall and pulled the trigger. The thick glass shattered under the force of the round and blew outwards, the shards drifting through the air in the zero-gravity environment as it tumbled outside of the envelope of the artificially generated gravity of the station. While making sure to keep a firm grip on the railing, Shepard hopped out of the elevator car and locked her mag-boots to the metal surface of the tower they had been travelling up. The rest of the squad was quick to follow, their footsteps were loud as the boots engaged with each step.

Progress up the massive tower was slow, both because of the need to use mag-boots, and the geth opposition that was pouring out of the tower at each level. The dizzying view from their position was not helping matters much either. Each time one of Sovereign's 'legs' moved, it reminded them the scale of the structures involved. Shepard couldn't help but wonder how the Citadel fleet was faring against the geth fleet outside of the closed ward arms. Knowing that time was running against them, Shepard urged her team faster, the squad leapfrogging from cover to cover during firefights to press the geth back as fast as possible. Their efforts paid off as the group finally made it to the upper level of the tower, only a thin metal door separating them from Saren.

Shepard had Wrex pry open the doors. As soon as the doors were open, Shepard gracefully spun her body ninety degrees to orient with the actual floor of the Council chambers. Shepard landed with a thud, the artificial gravity kicking in as soon as she entered it's area of effect. The rest of the team was a few steps behind her, each one landing in a crouch as they struggled with the disorienting reentry into gravity. The group walked up the stairs leading to stage that the Council governed from during official meetings. Standing at the edge of the walk way facing the stage, as if addressing an absent Council was Saren. Shepard motioned for her squad to fan out, wanting as many lines of fire as possible on the ex-Spectre should her attempts to talk him out of his murderous actions fail.

The closer Shepard got to Saren, the more details become clearer to her. She had wondered on Ilos how Saren had appeared uninjured as he outran her. The last time Shepard had fought Saren she had left him bleeding and broken, his armor and carapace cracked and dented. The arm she had broken no longer resembled his natural limb, instead it was a bulky cybernetic prosthesis. The cybernetic arm ended in razor sharp claws that looked significantly deadlier than his natural talons. His focus on the holographic interface hovering before him was broken as he heard Shepard's footsteps behind him. As he turned to look at her, she was able to notice that half of his face was also replaced with cybernetics, the artificial portion glowing a deep blue. "Shepard… you are just in time to see the arrival of our saviors. I should thank you," Saren said, pointing to his replaced arm. "Sovereign saw fit to repair my body after your assault. As a result, I am better than ever before, ready to lead all people in a future ruled by the reapers."

Shepard shook her head sadly, docking her pistol on her armor as she stepped closer to Saren. "Saren, listen to yourself. If you weren't indoctrinated before, you certainly are now! Look at what that machine did to your body! I see hoses and wires and cybernetics everywhere! How much of you is even turian anymore? Twenty… thirty percent? You think they are going to spare us if you let them through? You think they will thank you for your contributions and allow you to lead all organic life? Think, Saren. If they are as powerful as you and I know they are, what good are we to them alive? What possible purpose would they have for allowing us to continue to live? They don't want slaves, Saren. They want our annihilation! They want us to be dust and bones for the next cycle to wonder about. But this doesn't have to end like that. I can stop them, Saren. _We _can stop them. Just let me open the Citadel and we can save everyone!"

A look of panic and doubt flashed across Saren's face, his features became twisted as fear took hold of him. What remained of Saren's mind reasserted control over his body as he pulled out his pistol. "Thank you, Shepard. Thank you for giving me one last chance to serve." Saren moved the pistol to the side of his head and pulled the trigger, the round penetrating his skull and making a mess of his brain. Saren's body fell off of the walkway into a small courtyard area several meters below. Shepard pointed to Liara and Wrex and ordered them to make sure Saren stayed down for good. A few moments later the pair jumped down from the walkway and Shepard heard two booming reports from Wrex's shotgun. Shepard nodded her head resolutely and approached the holographic interface still hovering where Saren had been standing.

"I've got it! Full control of the Citadel. Ward arms opening… now." The loud groaning of metal was proof of her statement as the squad watched out of the main window behind the stage as the ward arms blossomed open. Comms came on a moment later as the program Vigil gave Shepard continued to undo the work of the reaper. "Repeat, this is Matriarch Lidanya of the Destiny Ascension. The Council is on board and in immediate danger. The geth fleet is hammering us. Kinetic barriers down to forty percent. Propulsion systems are damaged. We need assistance now!" Shepard was about to respond when her comms clicked on again, this time hearing the familiar voice of her pilot, Joker. "Commander, is that you? We received the emergency broadcast. I'm in the Andura sector with the whole Arcturus fleet. Say the word and we can swoop in and save the Ascension."

Shepard could just as easily command the Alliance fleet to attack Sovereign directly, ending the threat here and now, but she knew from Vigil that previous cycles fell when their seat of government was taken out in the first strike. Add onto that the fact she rather liked Councilor Tevos, she couldn't condemn her to death along with the 10,000 souls aboard the Destiny Ascension. Plus, it wouldn't hurt to have the Council's gratitude in the coming war with the reaper fleet. Shepard keyed in her comms and gave the order. "All ships, focus fire on geth fleet attacking the Ascension. Once secure, shift focus to reaper dreadnought." Shepard could see sparks of light in the distance as she peered out into space, the Alliance fleet appearing through the relay. She heard Admiral Hackett repeat her orders to all ships as they engaged the geth forces.

Shepard briefly wondered why the top-ranking officer in the navy would defer to her for such an important decision but was interrupted from her musings when several explosions rocked the space around the Ascension, the geth ships harassing the massive dreadnought destroyed by the arrival of the Arcturus fleet. Losses to the Arcturus fleet were minimal, only one ship having been destroyed. The geth fleet had been decimated, nearly a total loss due to the surprise attack. The fleet then followed through on the second half of their orders, all ships moving to engage Sovereign, still sitting upon the massive tower that dominated the center of the Citadel. Hundreds of missiles and cannons fired at the reaper, all detonating harmlessly on its barriers or being diverted from direct impact. The reaper possessed shield technology well beyond anything the Citadel races had access to, and idly blasted ships out of existence with a massive laser, each discharge cutting a ship in half.

As the fleet engaged the Sovereign, the massive intelligence took control of the cybernetic implants of the dead Saren, burning his flesh away and leaving a twisted and grotesque monster of metal in its place. The creature stood up and issued a challenged roar, surprising the ground team with its strength and speed. What remained of the rogue Spectre's corpse jumped from wall to wall, floor to ceiling as it assaulted the ground team. Shepard drew on her biotics and launched a massive throw at the mechanical being, the creature shrugging off the attack, seemingly unaffected by it. The ground team grouped up in the small courtyard where Saren had fallen and fired at the machine until their weapons overheated. Many of their shots had missed, as fast as the creature was, and damage was minimal. Tali was launching tech attacks in rapid succession in an effort to shut the machine down, all to no avail.

Minutes ticked by slowly as the battle progressed, both on the Citadel and in space against the reaper. Finally, due more to the massive amounts of outgoing fire rather than any skill on the ground team's part, the machine that had once been Saren fell to the ground, red sparks arcing from its body as it burned down to ash. As soon as Saren's husk fell, the same arcing red energy could be seen on Sovereign. With the red energy warping across its hull, Sovereign's shields finally fell. The remaining Citadel and Alliance forces swarmed the dreadnought in a frenzy, desperate to end the machine's life before their own forces were whittled down to nothing. Shepard couldn't see it from her position, but the whole ground team felt the massive ship shudder as a massive cannon shot went straight through its hull.

The reaper capitol ship was blasted apart as explosions rocked its frame. Bits and pieces of debris raining down to all surfaces of the Citadel. Shepard had just finished helping Liara out of the small courtyard they had battled Saren in when she noticed movement outside of the viewing window overlooking the Citadel. A large chunk of Sovereign was hurtling towards their position at a frightening pace. Shepard shouted a warning to her team who were all huddled together. Turning to look at the cause of Shepard's warning took valuable time, the ground team began to sprint away from the Council chamber as quickly as possible, but Shepard could tell they were out of time. As far behind as she was, there was no hope for her, but she could save her crew. She could save Liara.

Time slowed down for Shepard as she pulled on her biotics. She didn't know if she could throw six people as far as they needed to go, but she wasn't going to give up. Her entire body glowed a bright blue-white as she summoned more power than she had the ability to safely harness. With a forceful shoving motion, Shepard summoned a massive blue wave that travelled the distance between her and her team in less than a second. The wave ripped her squad off of their feet and carried them to the far end of the room, slamming them roughly into the wall. Shepard briefly hoped that she hadn't injured them before turning back to the window to see how much time she had left. Shepard felt a twinge of sadness flow through her as she turned to face her demise. Summoning what little power she had left, Shepard fell to her knees and erected a small biotic bubble around herself. The last thing Shepard heard before a twisted heap of metal fell upon her was Liara screaming her name in despair.

…

Captain Anderson had volunteered to lead the search party responsible for finding and treating the Normandy's ground team. Communication with the team had been lost after one of Sovereign's 'legs' crashed into the Council chambers on the top floor of the massive Citadel tower. The first step to finding the missing team had been to repair the elevator. Luckily, with the reaper dead, and the geth dispatched, keepers had already begun repairs by the time Anderson arrived at the foot of the tower. Within minutes, the elevator lowered to meet Anderson down on the presidium and he stepped in with a group of medics and engineers, all members of the search party. The elevator ride felt like it lasted hours. Anderson was pacing within the large elevator car and his thoughts were running wild. He hadn't known Shepard long, but he had taken an instant liking to her. The thought of losing such a talented individual and friend was weighing heavily on Anderson when the elevator chimed having reached its destination.

The door opened to a scene of utter destruction. The part of Sovereign's hull that had impacted with the tower had been massive and the damage was extensive to the Council chambers. As he stepped out of the elevator, he noticed whispering to his left. He turned and was relieved to see that Shepard's team had made it out alive. It gave him hope that Shepard might be alive as well. As Anderson stepped closer, he could hear the ground team discussing how best to go about looking for Shepard. The team was relieved when they caught sight of Anderson and the group of engineers and medics. The groups quickly merged and exchanged information. Of most interest to Anderson was Shepard's last location. Liara was distraught as she pointed to a pile of wreckage at the far end of the room, the mountain of metal weighing several tons at the very least. Anderson's face was grim as he cast a critical eye over the location, the odds of surviving under such a weight were minimal at best.

Anderson turned to the engineers and ordered them to begin shifting the wreckage using mass effect field generators to lessen the weight of the objects. Liara and Wrex were quick to offer the assistance of their biotics, both eager to learn Shepard's ultimate fate. Garrus made himself busy half-carrying Tali to one of the medics for attention, the collision with the wall having broken one of her suit's seals and Tali was certain she had a few broken ribs. Ashley was also being attended to by a medic, having limped over to one as the engineers broke off to start a rescue attempt.

Some of the wreckage was large enough that it took multiple generators along with both Liara's and Wrex's biotics to shift it. Wrex was of enormous help during the process both due to his stubborn refusal to give up, and his massive strength in biotic power. Liara on the other hand was being torn in two as she worked to move aside another piece of wreckage. She was driven to find Shepard, working in a frenzy to move as much of the destroyed reaper as could, as fast as she could. At the same time, before she moved each piece, she was terrified of what she might find. Each piece she moved without seeing Shepard was both a wonderful relief and a terrible disappointment. Her struggle with her emotions only got worse when one of the engineers accompanying them called out from a pile of debris. "I've got something, get over here!"

Liara found her feet stuck to the ground, too afraid to find Shepard's broken body laying under a pile of metal scrap. Her breath caught in her throat and tears stung the corners of her eyes as a rather heavy bit of the destroyed reaper was lifted away. She couldn't fathom anyone being alive under such a weight. Liara offered a silent prayer to the goddess before taking a few faltering steps towards the growing group. As she climbed over another piece of Sovereign, she caught a glimpse of black armor with a red and white stripe. Laying in a crater on the ground was the human she loved more than anything, covered in blood and unresponsive. Liara chewed on her bottom lip as the medics moved in, running a slew of diagnostic scans over the prone woman. "Armor onboard medical suite reports BP 50 over 35. Pulse is erratic. Organ function impaired. Hypovolemic shock is likely. Multiple fractures throughout the entire body. We need to get her to Huerta, now."

Liara didn't know enough about human physiology to know what a normal human blood pressure was supposed to be, but she could sense that things were dire from the attitude of the group of medics. Shepard was placed in a stasis field and transferred to a rigid gurney where she was strapped down and rushed off to the hospital. Liara was only a few steps behind the whole trip, the medics ignoring her presence in the ambulance as they carted off the hero of the Citadel.

…

Six days had passed since the lone reaper had initiated what was being called the Battle of the Citadel. Six days of confusion and anger from the people that lived there, blaming the Council for this attack. Six days of celebration and remembrance from the armed forces that fought off the invading fleet. To Liara it had been six days of painful waiting. The first two days had been spent with Shepard in a surgery suite. Doctors of all races were rushing in and out of the operating room at regular intervals all in an effort to save the creature that had given them all another chance at life. After forty-three hours of surgery, Liara had been told that it was done and that it was up to Shepard's body to complete the healing process. Nothing more could be done for now. The next four days had passed by at a terribly slow pace as Liara waited for her love to awaken. Captain Anderson had shown up a couple times to speak to the woman that had come to mean a surprising amount to him.

Liara had spoken to the Captain for a few hours each time he visited and shared stories of Shepard's exploits in their battles groundside. Liara was careful to limit the amount of information she shared about Shepard's biotic talents. Shepard had asked her during one of their late-night talks to keep quiet about some things, afraid that the Alliance would ground her for study or psych evaluations. Shepard's distrust of the Systems Alliance concerned Liara, but she never had the chance to bring up her concerns. As it was, the Alliance Captain was still impressed with the dulled down retelling of some of Shepard's combat feats.

Liara laid herself down in the hospital bed next to Shepard's prone form, tucking her arms to her chest to prevent herself from putting any weight upon Shepard's body. In the dim light of the room, Liara cast her eyes over the various medical equipment and bandages covering the battered soldier. The most worrisome injury to Liara had been Shepard's fractured skull and the suspected brain damage she had suffered from overuse of biotics. One of her eyes was bandaged over, the socket having been crushed and the eye within being destroyed. Another cybernetic replacement Shepard would have to learn to live with. Her gaze fell lower, the swell of Shepard's chest was not as pronounced as usual, her entire torso wrapped tightly with gauze.

Liara was lost in her memories of time shared with the woman, tears steaming across her face and soaking into the pillow below her head, when a soft gasp could be heard a few inches from her. Liara's eyes flicked back up to Shepard's face and she let out a sigh of relief as she saw her love struggling to open her eye. Liara placed a hand on Shepard's shoulder and whispered softly into her ear. "Welcome back, Ellie. Stay still. You were gravely injured, and it will do you no good to move right now." Shepard's lip curled up at the corner in the smallest of smiles making Liara's heart flutter in excitement.

Shepard was struggling against a wave of nausea and dizziness as she struggled to speak. Her entire body hurt, her breathing was strained, and she felt the urgent need to vomit. Liara's presence was enough to make it seem a little less awful, though. As her mind went to Liara, Shepard remembered what put her in such a state. She relived what she had thought to be the last few moments of her life and was relieved to recall that she had thrown her team successfully to safety. Her own survival was a bit confusing for her, but judging by the amount she was currently suffering, it must have been a close thing. Shepard's voice was barely a whisper as she croaked out a single word. "Liara."

The asari in question placed a finger upon Shepard's lips and again whispered in her love's ear. "Please do not speak. Just listen for a while and drift back to sleep. It will feel better in the morning, I promise." Shepard's eye fluttered closed in acknowledgement and her dizziness lessened considerably. As Shepard's tenuous grasp on consciousness slipped, she could hear Liara's melodic voice in her ear, guiding her back into the darkness.

New tears fell down Liara's face as she slowly removed herself from the bed and quietly got dressed. Several minutes passed before Liara could regain control of her emotions and wipe away her tears. She had come so close to losing the most important thing left in her life. To have confirmation that she was recovering was something that had hit her harder than she imagined it would have. Squaring her shoulders, Liara softly palmed open the door and walked into the hall. After the door whispered shut, Liara whispered brief greetings to the massive soldiers guarding the room. She walked determinedly over to a doctor that she recognized from Shepard's surgery and informed her of Shepard's brief moment of consciousness. She watched as the doctor ran off to inform her peers of this new development and felt great relief at the hopeful look on the doctor's face. As much as she wanted to return to Shepard's side, she knew that several people needed to hear the news nearly as much as she did.

…

Councilor Tevos was just about to retire to her chambers when her omni-tool vibrated. The councilor was exhausted and groaned in irritation that something else apparently required her attention. She had not slept in what felt like days, attending to matters large and small after the fall of the reaper. Sighing in resignation, she returned to her desk and her omni-tool blinked into existence around her wrist as she looked to see who was bothering her so late into the night. Her irritation quickly deserted her as she saw the name Liara T'Soni on the holographic interface. A few quick instructions typed into the device had the young doctor ushered into her office. Tevos stood from her chair as Liara entered the room and welcomed the younger asari with a formal greeting.

"Thank you for seeing me at this hour, Councilor. I cannot help but wonder what has you up so late yourself as to answer my request so quickly." Tevos laughed wearily as she plopped down into her chair with none of her usual grace. "Your…" Tevos paused and cocked her head to the side as she thought for her next words. "I suppose I don't know what to call her at this point. Were she asari I would assume the two of you were simply trying each other out at this point." Liara opened her mouth to protest such a notion when Tevos put her hand up, silencing the younger asari. "I know what you are about to say. Know that I do not suspect that is the case. She is highly possessive, fiercely protective and entirely devoted to you. I do not suspect she is 'trying you out.' That said, human-asari relationships are not my specialty, so to speak. They are a short lived species that move faster than they should in most cases. They can outfight a turian if given the chance and out-think a salarian with enough training. They intimidate most other species just by existing. Naturally they bond faster than the asari would in most cases as well."

"My point is, I don't know where your relationship stands. Last I heard, the two of you had moved in together on board the Normandy. My last communication from Shepard is old and speaks of you falling into a routine with each other." Liara was smiling softly as Tevos spoke, remembering the nights she had shared her mind with Shepard. Tevos was right, of course. Humans were intimidating. Hers most of all. Shepard was fast, and smart, dangerous and brave. She was like the human embodiment of the goddess in Liara's eyes. "Shepard means more to me than I can put into words, Councilor. I almost lost her in our moment of victory against the reaper. To have come so close was… it was nearly more than I could handle. If I had actually lost her? I do not know that I would still be breathing, Councilor. You say you do not know what our relationship is? Well… neither do I. I do not know what to call someone who means more to you than yourself. We are not promised or bonded, if that is what you are asking."

Tevos smiled at the younger asari, briefly getting lost in her own memories before snapping back to the present. What Liara had said troubled Tevos. That the last living T'Soni felt so strongly about Shepard as to think death as the only alternative to being with her in life was troubling. A Great House is not so easily replaced as to casually cross one off of the proverbial list. How to prevent that from happening, then? Two solutions presented themselves to Tevos at this late hour. Either separate the two somehow, or ensure Shepard survived whatever came her way. One was much harder than the other to pull off, but the harder of the two sat better with her. 'It is decided then,' thought Tevos. 'Shepard must live through to old age… but how to ensure something so wild as that for a Spectre?' "Well then, judging by your presence here and the lack of tears, you came to tell me that Shepard will live?"

Liara nodded, a flicker of a smile appearing on her tired face. "She will, I think. She spoke to me. Just my name… just one word, but it was enough." Tevos stood from her chair and went to help Liara up from hers. "I would love to sit and chat with you well into the night, Liara, but you look exhausted. Return to Shepard's side, and I shall inform others of her fate. You have brought us great news. I am sure her room will be busy tomorrow with visitors, if she is up for it." Liara nodded and tiredly made her way to the door of Tevos' office, waving goodbye to the councilor before disappearing behind the metal door.

With her audience gone, Tevos sat back down and slumped into her chair. Many people needed to hear of Shepard's survival. It was going to be a much longer night than she had earlier thought.

…

True to Tevos' word, Shepard's room was at risk of being overrun the next day. The two guards that had been stationed there the night before had been reinforced by another four massive examples of the Alliance Marines. Reporters from every major news station were crowding the door to her room. Delegates from the Council and the Systems Alliance were both previously admitted entry and were on their way out. Reporters ambushed the representatives and each screamed questions louder than the previous one until Admiral Hackett himself made his presence known in the room with a booming yell. "Cut the shit! Anyone with a camera has ten seconds to clear out before I order this hospital cleared by force." Five seconds passed in relative silence before he looked at his omni-tool and began counting. Several of the reporters began to pack up their belongings rather hurriedly, though some remain unconvinced. When Hackett got to ten, he shrugged and brought his omni-tool to his mouth and spoke in a calm and even voice. "Have it your way. Marines, clear this place. Hospital personnel may stay, along with patients and their visitors. Political delegates are likewise permitted. Reporters are to be escorted off premises and barred from re-entry."

Marines began to pour into the building at a terrifying rate, each one peeling off to physically remove reporters from the hospital in pairs. Others were busy ushering patients and hospital workers into rooms to prevent them from injury. Hackett's orders were executed with speed and precision. Within three minutes all reporters were outside with their equipment in heaps at their feet. As the last reporter was found and hauled out, the remaining marines exited the hospital as quickly as they had entered. The building was eerily quiet as hospital workers hurried to get back to the tasks at hand. Hackett had no doubt the Council would be yelling in his ear at any moment, so he decided to make his visit quick.

Hackett made his way into Shepard's room with quick steps, hoping to be in and out before the Council caught word of his little military exercise. He stopped at the foot of Shepard's bed and waited for Liara to extricate herself from Shepard's side. Liara cast a glance over the old admiral and decided she would be best off excusing herself from the room. Hackett nodded his thanks to the asari and waited for the door to seal shut before he let out a heavy sigh. "You have done something extraordinary, Shepard. Saved the Council, killed a rogue Spectre, destroyed a reaper… lived to talk about it. I know you can't talk much, don't expect you to, honestly. Just wanted you to know, when the time comes and you need support, you'll have mine. The Council didn't take your warning seriously… some of us did. Whatever you know Shepard… whatever you have seen, I have your back. And before I forget… good call with saving the Council. It cost us a ship, but earned us an impossible amount of gratitude. We will talk more once you are recovered. Get well soon, Shepard. Something tells me you don't think we are safe yet."

With his piece said, Hackett spun on his heel and hurried out of the room. He never felt at ease around the Hero of Elysium, now the Hero of the Citadel. He always felt as if he were standing in front of a storm that could swallow him whole, if he wasn't careful. 'No… better to be on that one's good side, I should think.' Hackett decided that the time for preparations was upon him. If Shepard was to be believed, that reaper ship was not alone. A single one nearly blasted them apart. The Alliance would need to get serious if they were going to stand toe to toe with more of them. His next stop would be Alliance R and D on Earth. It was time to get some answers about what these reapers really were.

…

Nearly a month had gone by since Sovereign was blasted to pieces. Humanity had a representative on the Council with Captain, now Councilor, Anderson. Commander Shepard and her crew were back on the Normandy, scouting for geth in the far reaches of space. Shepard was mostly recovered, though not yet cleared for ground duty. Liara had protested heavily about Shepard returning to space so soon, but Shepard had managed to calm her down and convince her that she would not be taking part in any ground battles any time soon. Things had been quiet for the last few trips out for the Normandy. No husks, no Rachni, no geth. Most aboard the ship were glad for the peace and quiet of space. For the first time in quite a while, people were able to relax and breathe. Others were not so happy with the calm. To XO Pressley, the peace was an unwelcome change from the frantic pace he had grown accustomed to.

As Shepard made her way to the cockpit, she overheard Pressley complaining about their current assignment to anyone that would listen. "Geth? They have us out here searching for geth? They are not the real threat. Besides, we should be out serving the Alliance, not chasing down the Council's boogey men." Shepard was in a good enough mood to let the bitching slide, having spent the entire morning with Liara. Thinking back on the last month, Shepard found herself thanking a higher power that she had found Liara. Shepard was aware that they were still considered a new couple, but she was finding it hard to remember how she kept moving forward before she met Liara. Shepard found herself smiling as she thought up an answer to her unspoken question. 'Because I was moving in her direction. I had to keep moving to find her.' Shepard's daydreaming was broken as a warning klaxon blew into the cockpit.

Joker's hands were a blur as they moved through the many displays on the haptic interface controlling the ship. His voice was calm and even as he read out what was setting off alarms all over the ship. "New unidentifiable vessel appeared behind us. Scanners are active. They are looking for something. Hold… New heading, vessel is on intercept course with the Normandy." Pressley was itching for a fight, but was feeling a bit shocked that something had appeared out of nowhere right on top of them. "Bullshit. We're cloaked. Confirm heading." Shepard was standing over Joker's shoulder and confirmed the heading herself, her mind echoing Pressley's disbelief. "Joker is right. Heading is confirmed. Vessel will intercept in one point five minutes." Shepard was about to give the order to jump to FTL when Joker yelled into the ship's comm system. "All hands, brace for impact! Unknown ordinance incoming! Prepare for damage control."

Before Shepard could give the order to evade, Joker was juking the Normandy left and right, attempting to throw off their unknown assailant's aim. A split second later, a bright orange beam speared through space, shattering the Normandy's shielding and tearing into the plating of the ship. Fires were springing up all over the ship, the instant downing of the shields playing hell with electrical systems throughout the Normandy. "Joker, get us the hell out of here. All hands, prepare to abandon ship. Deploy distress beacon." Just as Shepard finished her last statement, the orange beam speared through space again, blasting one of the Normandy's engines away and sending multiple explosions through the ship. A console in the cockpit exploded, throwing Pressley across the room, his face and neck covered in shrapnel. Shepard knelt down next to him and checked for life.

"Pressley's dead… so is the Normandy. All hands… abandon ship. Joker, buy us whatever time one engine can buy us." Shepard ran to the CIC and began coordinating the evacuation of the ship. Liara appeared behind her, fully suited up and ready to leave. "Elizabeth, we must go. This ship will not hold together for much longer." Shepard nodded and prepared to leave with Liara when she spotted Joker still seated at the helm of the ship. She knew he would never make it off of the ship on his own. "Go Liara… I have to get Joker. I'll hitch a ride with the flight crew from the front escape pod." Liara hesitated, her hand reaching out to Shepard's arm. "Please hurry, Elizabeth. There is not much time…" Shepard nodded and pushed Liara towards the escape pods before beginning to run to the cockpit.

As Shepard passed the CIC on her way to the helm of the ship, the orange beam fired again, tearing the hull away from the ship over her head. Explosive decompression would have yanked her from the hull if her hardsuit's boots hadn't noticed the shift and engaged her maglocks. Shepard turned and was relieved to see Liara in an escape pod with the door closed and locked. Through the viewport of the pod, she could see Liara banging on the glass to urge her into movement. Liara watched through the viewport as Shepard made her way to the front of the ship and began helping Joker into his own escape pod. Her heart was in her throat as she watched Shepard head to the pod herself. Just as Shepard was about to hop into the pod, another blast rocked the Normandy. The force of the explosion was enough to rip Shepard's boots from the hull and propel her away from the door.

Liara screamed as she watched Shepard float away from the pod, and shrieked as Shepard hit the button to eject the pod to safety. The blast from the pod propelled Shepard away from the ship and towards the planet below. Liara could only watch and scream as Shepard grew smaller into the distance and she could feel herself die inside as Shepard's body began to burn up with the remains of the ship as it fell into Alchera's atmosphere.

…

Shepard felt the ship rock as another explosion blasted the hull. She felt when her boots lost connection to the deck and heard Liara scream over her suit's comms. As Shepard pushed the release button on Joker's pod, she felt her helmet slam against a piece of the hull. She was knocked unconscious by the blow and never felt her suit failing as she fell into the atmosphere.


End file.
